Holcopasites insoletus (Linsley)

ROZEN, JEROME G. & ÖZBEK, HIKMET, 2003, Oocytes, Eggs, and Ovarioles of Some Long-Tongued Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), American Museum Novitates 3393, pp. 1-36 : 10-11

Holcopasites insoletus (Linsley)

MATURE OOCYTE (figs. 12, 14): Length 0.43–0.45 mm; maximum diameter 0.18– 0.19 mm (N = 4); egg index 0.27 (dwarf). Incurved surface (presumably dorsal surface as judged by the egg/oocyte of Ammobatoides abdominali ; Rozen, 2001) flat to gently curved; outcurved surface more strongly curved than incurved surface as seen from side; anterior end narrowing more gradually than posterior end as seen from side; greatest diameter somewhat posterior to midpoint as seen in lateral view; micropylar process hook­shaped (fig. 12). Chorion uniformly moderately thin, reflective, clear, glassy, very faintly amber when viewed stereoscopically in ethanol; when viewed by SEM, chorion dorsally with faint polygonal pattern; eclosion line (?) on each side consisting of deep polygonal pits at anterior end, becoming shallower posteriorly until they merge with general pattern (fig. 12).

MATERIAL STUDIED: One female, New Mexico: Hidalgo Co., Rodeo , VIII­28–2001 (J.G. Rozen, V. Giles) .

REMARKS: Rozen (1965) diagrammed the egg insertion of an unidentified species of Holcopasites . Although the insertion position is correct, the egg itself is misleading in that it does not show the micropylar process at the anterior end and the egg shape is misleading, as judged by the shape of the mature oocytes of H. insoletus (fig. 12) and H. tegularis (fig. 13).

In his comparative study of the female reproductive systems of nomadine bees, Alexander (1996) also provided statistics concerning the egg index, number of mature oocytes, and ovarian formula of this species; his value for the egg index was 0.25 (dwarf).