Andrena (incertae sedis) inusitata Pisanty, 2022

Pisanty, Gideon, Scheuchl, Erwin, Martin, Teresa, Cardinal, Sophie & Wood, Thomas James, 2022, Twenty-five new species of mining bees (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae: Andrena) from Israel and the Levant, Zootaxa 5185 (1), pp. 1-109 : 88-91

Andrena (incertae sedis) inusitata Pisanty sp. nov.

( Figs. 214–221 )

Female. Unknown.

Male ( Fig. 214 ).

Body length: 8–9 mm.

Colour. Head and mesosoma dark brown to black ( Figs. 214–216 ). Clypeus and paraocular area fully black ( Fig. 215 ). Anterior side of flagellomeres 3–10 orange. Legs brown. Wings weakly infuscate, veins and stigma brown ( Fig. 214 ). Tergal discs brown. Tergal marginal zones brown to black basally, yellowish apically ( Fig. 218 ).

Pubescence. Body hair mostly white to yellowish, moderately plumose ( Fig. 214 ). Face, vertex and genal area with short to medium, white to yellowish hair ( Figs. 215–216 ). Mesonotum with short white to yellowish erect hair, longer peripherally. Metanotum and periphery of scutellum with medium-lengthed white to golden erect hair. Mesepisternum and propodeum with long white to yellowish hair ( Figs. 214, 216 ). Leg hair white to golden ( Fig. 214 ). Tergal discs and basal half of tergal marginal zones with dense, minute inconspicuous bright hair. Apical part of tergal marginal zones with weak lateral bands of short white hair. Terminal fringe white to golden ( Fig. 218 ).

Head ( Figs. 215–216 ). 1.2 times broader than long. Mandible bidentate. Galea finely shagreened. Labral process much broader than long, apical margin slightly concave. Clypeus convex, smooth and shiny, densely and coarsely but shallowly punctured, punctures contiguous (distance between punctures <0.5 puncture diameter), without impunctate midline. Malar area length 0.1–0.2 times width of mandible base. Supraclypeal plate strongly, finely rugose, sparsely punctured. Lower half of paraocular area densely, obliquely punctured; upper half longitudinally striated, densely punctured. Flagellomere 1 slightly longer than 2, 2 equal to or slightly shorter than 3. Frons strongly rugose, densely punctured. Ocelloccipital distance 1.5–2 ocellus diameters. Vertex finely rugose, densely punctured, weakly carinate, almost rounded ( Figs. 215–216 ). Genal area 1.1 times broader than compound eye, with wave-shaped wrinkles, posterior margin not pointed or carinate ( Fig. 216 ).

Mesosoma ( Figs. 216–217 ). Pronotum longitudinally striated posterolaterally, dorsolateral angle weakly elevated, lateral carina absent. Mesonotum and scutellum shiny and more or less smooth, strongly, coarsely and densely punctured, distance between punctures 0–0.5 puncture diameters on mesonotum and 0.5–1 on scutellum ( Fig. 216 ). Metanotum dull, coarsely punctured, punctures contiguous. Mesepisternum shiny, punctation strong and coarse, crater-like (with raised margins) and weakly oblique, distance between punctures 0–1 puncture diameters. Anterolateral part of propodeum rugose-areolate on dorsal half, obliquely striated on ventral half ( Fig. 217 ). Posterolateral part of propodeum strongly rugose-areolate. Propodeal triangle delineated by carina, strongly radially rugose to rugose-areolate. Submarginal crossvein 1 meets marginal cell 8–9 vein widths from stigma. Nervulus interstitial to slightly postfurcal ( Fig. 214 ).

Metasoma ( Fig. 218 ). Tergal discs smooth, strongly and densely punctured, distance between punctures 0.5–1 puncture diameters, punctation sparser and slightly finer towards apical terga. Tergal marginal zones only slightly depressed and hardly discernible from discs, sculpturing similar but punctation slightly sparser, apical margin impunctate. Pygidial plate present.

Genitalia and hidden sterna ( Figs. 219–221 ). Gonocoxites connected throughout, dorsal lobe weakly developed, rounded. Gonostyli gradually broadening apically, blade flattened, inner margin slightly raised, apical margin rounded. Penis valves of moderate width, basal half tapering apically, apical half narrow, columnar ( Fig. 219 ). Sternum 8 simple, stem narrowing apically, apical process slightly broadened ( Figs. 220–221 ).

Diagnosis. Andrena inusitata most likely merits erection of a new monotypic subgenus, but we abstain from describing it until the female is discovered. In the recent molecular phylogeny of Andreninae, this species was found to be the sister group to subgenus Brachyandrena ( Pisanty et al. 2022) . Andrena inusitata shares with Brachyandrena the unusual sculpturing of the anterolateral part of the propodeum (corresponding to the propodeal corbicula in the female), which is rugose-areolate dorsally and obliquely striated ventrally ( Fig. 217 ). Moreover, the two taxa share a relatively densely, coarsely and strongly sculptured cuticle, although it is clearly coarser and denser in Brachyandrena . However, the most unusual feature of A. inusitata , which distinguishes it also from Brachyandrena , is the unusual, strong crater-like puncturing of the mesepisternum. The male of A. inusitata closely resembles that of A. (incertae sedis) oviventris Pérez , although it is unclear whether the two species are related phylogenetically. The male of A. inusitata differs from A. oviventris in the sparser crater-like puncturing of the mesepisternum (obliquely honeycombed in A. oviventris ), rugosity of the anterolateral part of propodeum (finely reticulated, without rugae in A. oviventris ), flagellomere 1 which is only slightly longer than 2 (distinctly longer in A. oviventris ), and the appressed labral process (upturned in A. oviventris ).

Distribution: Central Israel.

Flight period: February–April.

Flower records: None.

Holotype: ISRAEL: Kfar Shmuel [Kefar Shemuel], 7.iv.1968, S. Bleszynski, ♂ ( SMNHTAU:374575).

Paratypes: ISRAEL: Kfar Shmuel [Kefar Shemuel], 25.ii.1968, S. Bleszynski (1♂); 1.iv.1968, S. Bleszynski (1♂) ( CNC, SMNHTAU) .

Etymology. inusitata = Latin for “unusual”, in reference for the unique morphology and phylogenetic placement of this taxon. The species epithet is an adjective.

Figures

FIGURES 213–221. Andrena (incertae sedis) hulae sp. nov. 213. female metasoma. Andrena (incertae sedis) inusitata sp. nov. 214. male habitus, 215. male head, 216. male head and mesosoma, 217. male lateral part of propodeum, 218. male metasoma, 219. male genitalia, 220. male eighth sternum, ventral view, 221. male eighth sternum, dorsal view.