Neofidelia camanchaca Dumesh and Packer

Dumesh, Sheila & Packer, Laurence, 2013, Three new species of Neofidelia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae) from Northern Chile, Zootaxa 3609 (5), pp. 471-483 : 476-477

Neofidelia camanchaca Dumesh and Packer , new species

( Figs. 9 , 14 , 15 , 17–20 , 31 )

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Diagnosis: This species, only known from the male, can be differentiated from others in the genus by the combination of subapical metafemoral angle acute, apical angle strongly obtuse ( Fig. 15 ) and S8 with apicolateral margin weakly concave (see Fig. 20 ). Other species either have both metafemoral angles acute ( N. profuga and N. submersa , see Fig. 16 ) or have S8 convex apicolaterally ( N. longirostris and N. apacheta , Fig. 13 ).

Description: Male. Dimensions: Length 10.5 mm, forewing length 7.7 mm, head breadth 2.9 mm; ITW 2.7 mm. Colouration: Integument black, except: ventral surface of antenna brown, scape with apical bright yellow maculation; labrum pale brown; apex of clypeus and mandible reddish, clypeal lip laterally translucent orange; malar space with apical red-orange spot; tarsi red-brown; apical impressed areas of metasomal terga brown; pygidial plate apex red-brown.

Pubescence: Hairs mostly pale whitish, longest on mesopleuron (6MOD), genal area below (5MOD), T2 (5MOD) and mesoscutellum (4.5–5MOD); pubescence of face most dense on scape, supraclypeal area, and upper third of clypeus (3–3.5MOD); pubescence long and dense on mesosoma except lower metapleuron and lateral surface of propodeum anteriorly; mesotarsus with long hairs (4MOD); metafemur with pubescence dense, erect and fine (3.5MOD), metatibia with dense long pubescence on ventral surface (3MOD); T1 with long hairs on disc (4MOD), T2 with long posteriorly oriented hairs (5MOD), T1–T7 with long hairs laterally, longest on T2 and T5–T7 (3.5MOD), T7 bare on apical half; S1–S5 with long (<3.5MOD) suberect hairs laterally, shorter (<2MOD) erect hairs on disc; S6–S7 with dense erect hairs (1MOD and 1.7MOD, respectively).

Sculpture: Supraclypeal area coarsely and densely punctate, punctures crowded; clypeus densely punctate on basal 1/2 (1–2pd), punctures becoming sparser and finer on apical 1/2 (3–4pd), with faint impunctate medial line; metafemur shiny, densely punctate (<1pd); metasomal terga with discs densely punctate basally (1–2pd), more sparsely apically (3–4pd), T5–T7 slightly more coarsely punctate than more basal terga, apical impressed areas impunctate; pygidial plate shiny, surface mostly smooth and impunctate except minutely punctate along lateral margins; sterna more densely punctate apically (<1pd) than basally (1–2pd), punctures generally smaller on posterior of disc.

Structure: Head broader than long (L:B 50:58), clypeus more protuberant than breadth of compound eye in lateral view (21:18); antennal scape 1.7X as long as broad, pedicel as long as broad, F1 2.7X as long as broad, F2–F3 broader than long, F4–F5 with length and breadth subequal, F6–F11 longer than broad; frontal line narrowly depressed; labrum 1.5X as long as broad; mouthparts elongate, labial palpus 1.5X as long as head, glossa surpassing labial palpus by ~1/10 length (60:67); mesoscutellum strongly convex; metatrochanter triangularly produced mesoventrally, apicomedian angle slightly less than 90°; metafemur swollen (L:B 75:27), subapical angle 1/4 femur length from apex, acute, apical angle obtuse and barely recognisable; metatibia broad (L:B 75:25), outer ridge with sharp apicoventral angulation 1/4 from apex, inner ridge with angulation obtuse and somewhat outwardly oriented. Genitalia: gonostylus with basal translucent area extending for more than 1/2 of gonostylar length, apex pointed ( Fig. 17–18 ); S7 with apical margin weakly concave; disc almost straight laterally for basal half ( Fig. 19 ); S8 concave apicolaterally, apex truncate ( Fig. 20 ).

Female. Unknown.

Material Studied: Holotype male: CHILE: Antofogasta, 20–40 km N. Paposo, 28–30.x.1983, Luis E. Peña. The specimen has an additional label with an AMNH_ENT barcode, AMNH_BEE 0 0 0 0 9579.

Etymology: The species is named after the Chilean term for coastal fog – “ camanchaca ”, in reference to the fog that provides much of the moisture along the coast of the Atacama desert.

Figures

FIGURES 3 – 9. Fig. 3. N. apacheta female metabasitarsus in lateral view to show dorsal concavity (3 a), in dorsal view to show lateral curvature and pale fringe (3 b); Fig. 4. N. longirostris female metabasitarsus in lateral view to show dorsal surface

FIGURE 14. N. camanchaca male lateral habitus. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURES 15, 16. Fig. 15. N. camanchaca male metafemoral spines to show subapical angle acute, apical angle strongly obtuse; Fig. 16. N. submersa male metafemoral spines to show subapical angle acute and apical angle right angular to acute. Scale bars = 1 mm.

FIGURES 17 – 20. Fig. 17. N. camanchaca genital capsule (dorsal); Fig. 18. N. camanchaca genital capsule (ventral); Fig. 19. N. camanchaca S 7; Fig. 20. N. camanchaca S 8. Scale bars = 1 mm.

FIGURES 29 – 33. Fig. 29. N. profuga head to show clypeus extending only slightly below lower ocular tangent; Fig. 30. N. apacheta head to show clypeus extending further below lower ocular tangent; Fig. 31. N. submersa male clypeus to show protuberant clypeal lip; Fig. 32. N. camanchaca male clypeus to show non-protuberant clypeal lip. Scale bars = 1 mm.

FIGURES 10 – 13. Fig. 10. N. apacheta genital capsule (dorsal); Fig. 11. N. apacheta genital capsule (ventral); Fig. 12. N. apacheta S 7; Fig. 13. N. apacheta S 8. Scale bars = 1 mm.