Lasioglossum (Dialictus) meteorum, Gardner & Gibbs, 2020

Gardner, Joel & Gibbs, Jason, 2020, The ‘ red-tailed’ Lasioglossum (Dialictus) (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) of the western Nearctic, European Journal of Taxonomy 725, pp. 1-242 : 136-141

Lasioglossum (Dialictus) meteorum sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FD56C6BC-5A3F-436B-B3F2-A3DD6B50C9F1

Figs 58–60 , 90H , 94B , 105B

Diagnosis

Females of Lasioglossum meteorum sp. nov. can be recognized by the head and mesosoma with very strong microsculpture, scutum with sparse punctures (i=1–4 pd) becoming abruptly denser laterad of the parapsidal lines (i=1–2 pd), frons with fine and dense but distinctly separated punctures, pronotal angle nearly 90 degrees, T1 anterior surface weakly coriarious, acarinarial fan weakly developed, and metasoma with very sparse or absent tomentum. They are most similar to L. tessellatosum sp. nov., L. decorum sp. nov., and L. austerum sp. nov. Females of L. tessellatosum sp. nov. have the frons with crowded and indistinct punctures, scutum with even stronger microsculpture obscuring the punctures, and T1 anterior surface shiny. Females of L. decorum sp. nov. have the scutum shinier with more uniformly sparse punctures (i=1–3 pd), acarinarial fan dense, and metasomal terga with more extensive tomentum. Females of L. austerum sp. nov. have the scutum more densely punctate in part (i= 1–3 pd), mesosoma with weaker microsculpture, and pronotal angle obtuse.

Males of L. meteorum sp. nov. can be recognized by the clypeus, supraclypeal area, and mesepisternum sparsely punctate (i= 1–4 pd), scutum very sparsely punctate and weakly tessellate (i =1–6 pd), metasomal terga with broad impunctate rims, and clypeus lacking a non-metallic apical band. They are most similar to L. tessellatosum sp. nov. Males of L. tessellatosum sp. nov. have the clypeus and mesepisternum densely punctate (i ≤ 1 pd), scutum with strong dull microsculpture, and clypeus with a very narrow non-metallic black apical band.

Etymology

The specific epithet meteorum is formed from the Latinized Greek adjective ‘ meteoros ’ (‘lifted up’, ‘in air’). It refers to the fiery red colouration of the metasoma and this species’ proximity to the Chicxulub meteor impact crater. An appropriate translation would be the meteor sweat bee.

Material examined

Holotype

MEXICO – Yucatan • ♀; Merida , 15 km S of University of Yucatan; [20.83° N, 89.62° W]; 7 Apr. 1997; R. Brooks leg.; ex Piscidia piscipula ; SEMC.

[Verbatim label: MEXICO: Yucatan / Merida, 15 km S / University of Yucatan / 7 APR 1997; R.Brooks / MEX 1B 01 / ex: Piscidia piscipula // SM0105926 / KUNHM-ENT // HOLOTYPE / Lasioglossum (Dialictus) meteorum Gardner and Gibbs ]

Paratypes

MEXICO – Quintana Roo • 8 ♀♀, 6 ♂♂; Felipe Carrillo Puerto ; 19.35° N, 88.03° W; 13 Oct. 1986; T.L. Griswold and F.D. Parker leg.; ex Mentha sp.; BBSL • 5 ♀♀; same location as for preceding; 10–14 Oct. 1986; BBSL • 1 ♀; 25 km W of Felipe Carrillo Puerto; 19.35° N, 88.17° W; 15 Oct. 1986; T.L. Griswold leg.; BBSL . – Yucatan • 1 ♀; Baxac , 20 km SW of Tzucacab; [19.94° N, 89.18° W]; 12 Feb. 1987; C. Michener leg.; ex Viguiera dentata ; SEMC .

Description

Female

COLOURATION. Head and mesosoma blue-green to golden-green; clypeus apical colour black, reddish brown, or orange; labrum reddish brown to orange; mandible orange with black basal spot or band and red tip; flagellum black to dark reddish brown dorsally, slightly lighter ventrally; pronotal lobe reddish brown to orange; metasoma orange to reddish brown with dark spiracular spots on T3–4 and sometimes T2; legs reddish brown with femur-tibia joints, tarsi, and sometimes tibiae mostly orange; tegula orange; wing membrane infuscated, veins brown to dark brown.

PUBESCENCE. Body hair colour golden to white. Tomentum dense on pronotal angle and lobe and space between pronotal lobe and tegula; sparse on paraocular area, gena, metepisternum, T2–3 basolaterally, and T4 throughout. Scutum hair thin. Wing hairs dark, long and dense. Acarinarial fan incomplete, sparse. T2 fringes sparse, T3 fringes sparse.

SURFACE SCULPTURE. Clypeus punctures sparse (i =1–4 pd), sculpture shiny in apical half or more, tessellate basally; supraclypeal area punctures sparse (i =1–4 pd), sculpture tessellate, sometimes shiny medially; paraocular area punctures dense (i ≤ 1 pd), sculpture shiny ventrally and in narrow line adjacent to compound eye, otherwise tessellate; frons punctures crowded (i=0 pd), sometimes indistinct above antenna, sculpture imbricate, sometimes becoming weakly rugulose above antenna; vertex punctures fine, dense to moderately dense laterally (i ≤ 2 pd), sparse medially (i= 1–3 pd), often obscure, sculpture imbricate, sometimes shiny medially; gena punctures fine, sparse (i=1–3 pd), sculpture shiny, becoming tessellate and sometimes ruguloso-lineate posteriorly and ventrally; postgena sculpture tessellate and sometimes ruguloso-lineate; tegula punctures absent; scutum punctures sparse (i=1–4 pd), abruptly becoming moderately dense laterad of parapsidal line (i=1–2 pd), sculpture tessellate to finely reticulate; scutellum punctures sparse (i=1–5 pd), sculpture tessellate to finely reticulate; metanotum sculpture tessellate and finely rugulose; metapostnotum rugae strong, anastomosing, not reaching margin, sculpture tessellate to finely reticulate; preëpisternum sculpture finely reticulate and densely but obscurely punctate (i ≤ 1 pd) or rugulose; hypoepimeron punctures dense (i <1 pd), obscure, sculpture finely reticulate; mesepisternum punctures moderately dense (i =1–2 pd), sculpture finely reticulate; metepisternum sculpture lineate dorsally, ruguloso-punctate ventrally; propodeum lateral face sculpture tessellate; propodeum posterior face sculpture tessellate; T1 anterior face sculpture weakly coriarious; T1 dorsal surface punctures fine, sparse (i=2–4 pd), absent in large apicolateral oval patches, rim medially, and sometimes median line, sculpture shiny; T2 disc punctures fine, sparse (i =2–4 pd), disc sculpture shiny to weakly coriarious, rim punctures absent, rim sculpture coriarious.

STRUCTURE. Face length/width ratio 0.82 (± 0.03 SD). Clypeus projecting ~50% below suborbital tangent; clypeal area length/width ratio 0.47 (± 0.02 SD); apicolateral denticles rounded knobs; supraclypeal area length/width ratio 0.66 (± 0.05 SD). Forewing with 3 submarginal cells; pronotal angle slightly obtuse, nearly right-angled; tegula shape normal. Intertegular distance 0.88 (± 0.07 SD) mm. Scutum length/ width ratio 0.77 (± 0.02 SD); scutum/scutellum length ratio 3.14 (± 0.24 SD); scutellum/metanotum length ratio 1.5 (± 0.11 SD); metanotum/metapostnotum length ratio 0.7 (± 0.06 SD). Propodeum lateral carinae not reaching dorsal margin; oblique carina absent. T2 depressed apical rim length less than 50% of segment. (n =10)

Male

COLOURATION. Head and mesosoma blue-green to golden-green; clypeus apical colour concolourous with base; labrum black to reddish brown; mandible orange with black basal band and red tip; flagellum black to reddish brown dorsally, orange to brown ventrally; pronotal lobe reddish brown; metasoma black to reddish brown; legs black to reddish brown with femur-tibia joints, base and apex of tibiae, and tarsi orange to brown; tegula orange to brown; wing membrane hyaline to infuscated, veins brown to dark brown.

PUBESCENCE. Body hair colour pale yellow to white. Tomentum dense on paraocular area, lower half of frons, and pronotal angle and lobe; sparse on clypeus, supraclypeal area, and gena. Scutum hair thin to moderately plumose. Sterna hair moderately long (1–2 OD), densely plumose, sparse and erect. Wing hairs dark, short and dense.

SURFACE SCULPTURE. Clypeus punctures sparse (i= 1–4 pd), sculpture shiny; supraclypeal area punctures sparse (i=1–4 pd), sculpture shiny to tessellate; paraocular area punctures moderately dense (i=1–2 pd), sculpture shiny; frons punctures crowded (i =0 pd), becoming shallow and indistinct above antenna, sculpture reticulate-rugulose, becoming shiny to imbricate laterally; vertex punctures dense laterally (i ≤ 1 pd), sparse medially (i= 1–3 pd), sculpture imbricate, sometimes shiny medially; gena punctures sparse (i =1–3 pd), sculpture shiny, sometimes becoming weakly imbricate and weakly lineate posteriorly and ventrally; postgena sculpture shiny, becoming weakly imbricate and weakly lineate posteriorly and laterad of hypostomal carina; tegula punctures absent; scutum punctures sparse (i= 1–6 pd), abruptly becoming moderately dense laterad of parapsidal line (i=1–2 pd), sculpture shiny to weakly tessellate, becoming more strongly tessellate anteromedially; scutellum punctures sparse (i= 1–6 pd), sculpture shiny to weakly tessellate; metanotum sculpture shiny to weakly imbricate and weakly rugulosopunctate; metapostnotum rugae strong or weak, anastomosing or subparallel, nearly reaching margin, sculpture shiny to imbricate; preëpisternum sculpture areolate-rugulose to rugose; hypoepimeron punctures moderately dense (i=1–2 pd), sculpture shiny to finely reticulate; mesepisternum punctures moderately sparse (i=1–3 pd), sculpture shiny to finely reticulate; metepisternum sculpture lineate dorsally, weakly rugulose ventrally; propodeum lateral face punctures obscure, sculpture tessellate to weakly rugulose; propodeum posterior face sculpture shiny to imbricate; T1 anterior face sculpture shiny; T1 dorsal surface punctures sparse (i =1–4 pd), absent or very sparse in large apicolateral oval patches and on rim, sculpture shiny; T2 disc punctures sparse (i=1–3 pd), disc sculpture shiny, rim punctures absent, rim sculpture shiny.

STRUCTURE. Face length/width ratio 0.87 (± 0.03 SD). F1:pedicel length ratio 1.14 (± 0.33 SD); F2:F1 length ratio 1.86 (± 0.39 SD); F2 length/width ratio 1.53 (± 0.3 SD); F9 length/width ratio 1.21 (± 0.07 SD). Forewing with 3 submarginal cells; pronotal angle slightly obtuse, nearly right-angled; tegula shape normal. Intertegular distance 0.72 (± 0.03 SD) mm. Scutum length/width ratio 0.79

(± 0.03 SD); scutum/scutellum length ratio 2.96 (± 0.23 SD); scutellum/metanotum length ratio 1.41 (± 0.11 SD); metanotum/metapostnotum length ratio 0.71 (± 0.07 SD). Propodeum lateral carinae not reaching dorsal margin; oblique carina absent. (n= 6)

GENITALIA. As in Fig. 90H . Gonocoxite broad, weakly truncate. Gonostylus broad, with a few long hairs. Retrorse lobe very broad, ovoid, covered in sparse short hairs.

Range

Yucatan and Quintana Roo ( Fig. 60 ).

Floral records

ASTERACEAE Giseke : Viguiera : V. dentata (Cav.) Spreng. • FABACEAE Juss. Piscidia : P. piscipula (L.) Sarg. • LAMIACEAE Martinov : Mentha L.

DNA barcodes

Not available.

Remarks

Lasioglossum meteorum sp. nov. is apparently an exclusively Neotropical species endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula. Due to its close similarity to the much more widely distributed L. tessellatosum sp. nov., it seems advisable to describe it here to avoid future confusion between the two.

Figures

Fig. 58. Lasioglossum (D.) meteorum sp. nov., ♀. A. Dorsal habitus. B. Lateral habitus. C. Face. D. Propodeum. E. Metasoma. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Fig. 59. Lasioglossum (D.) meteorum sp. nov., ♂. A. Dorsal habitus. B. Lateral habitus. C. Face. D. Metasoma. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Fig. 60. Georeferenced collection records of Lasioglossum (D.) meteorum sp. nov. (black squares) and predicted distribution by maximum entropy ecological niche modeling in Maxent (colour shading). Warmer colours indicate higher cloglog probability of occurrence.

Fig. 90. Male genitalia. A. Lasioglossum (D.) arenisaltans sp. nov. B. L. (D.) clastipedion sp. nov. C. L. (D.) clematisellum (Cockerell, 1904). D. L. (D.) hudsoniellum (Cockerell, 1919). E. L. (D.) julipile sp. nov. F. L. (D.) lilianae sp. nov. G. L. (D.) mesillense (Cockerell, 1898). H. L. (D.) meteorum sp. nov. I. L. (D.) miltolepoides sp. nov. J. L. (D.) minckleyi sp. nov. K. L. (D.) pallidellum (Ellis, 1914). L. L. (D.) pictum (Crawford, 1902). M. L. (D.) rufornatum sp. nov. N. L. (D.) spivakae sp. nov. O. L. (D.) testaceum (Robertson, 1897).P. L. (D.) vierecki (Crawford, 1904). Q. L. (D.) zephyrus (Smith, 1853). Genitalia are illustrated in dorsal view and positioned such that the gonostylus is parallel to the plane of vision. Retrorse lobes are also illustrated separately to the bottom left of each figure in lateral view, positioned parallel to the plane of vision.

Fig. 94. Variation in frons punctation. A. Lasioglossum (D.) tessellatosum sp. nov., ♀, reticulatepunctate to ruguloso-punctate with crowded punctures. B. L. (D.) meteorum sp. nov., ♀, fine and dense but distinctly separated punctures. C. L. (D.) julipile sp. nov., ♀, moderately sparsely punctate. D. L. (D.) perditum sp. nov., ♀, very sparsely punctate. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Fig. 105. Dark spiracular spots (arrows) on the metasoma. A. Lasioglossum (D.) pictum (Crawford, 1902), ♀, present on T2–4. B. L. (D.) meteorum sp. nov., ♀, present on T3–4 only. Scale bars: 1 mm.