Amegilla (Zonamegilla) cingulata (Fabricius)

Leijs, Remko, Batley, Michael & Hogendoorn, Katja, 2017, The genus Amegilla (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Anthophorini) in Australia: A revision of the subgenera Notomegilla and Zonamegilla, ZooKeys 653, pp. 79-140 : 110-115

Amegilla (Zonamegilla) cingulata (Fabricius)

Figs 8 , 29 , 42

Andrena cingulata Fabricius, 1775, p. 378.

Amegilla cingulata (Fabricius) Michener, 1965, p. 216.

Amegilla (Zonamegilla) cingulata (Fabricius) Brooks, 1988, p. 511.

Anthophora emendata Smith, 1879, p. 123. n. syn.

Amegilla emendata (Smith) Michener, 1965, p. 216.

Anthophora emendata gilberti Cockerell, 1905, p. 396. n. syn.

Amegilla gilberti (Cockerell) Michener, 1965, p. 216.

Anthophora lilacine Cockerell, 1921, p. 84. n. syn.

Amegilla lilacine (Cockerell) Michener, 1965, p. 216.

Anthophora fabriciana Rayment, 1947, p. 53 n. syn.

Amegilla fabriciana (Rayment) Michener, 1965, p. 216.

Amegilla (Zonamegilla) fabriciana (Rayment) Brooks, 1988, p. 511.

Material examined.

186 females and 148 males.

Type data.

Holotype of Amegilla cingulata , female, BMNH, ‘Australia’, Banks Collection, E-668712. Mr D. Notton informed us that it is stored in the Banks Collection over the cabinet label ' Andrena cingulata Fabr. Sp. Ins. No. 17'.

Holotype of Amegilla emendata (by monotypy), male, BMNH, 17B.448.

Syntype of Amegilla emendata Amegilla gilberti , female, QLD, BMNH, 17B.665.

Holotype of Amegilla lilacine , male, Kuranda, QLD, QM Hy/2497.

Holotype of Amegilla fabriciana (by monotypy), female, " No 31; In a tunnelled cell in plaster in the walls of an old house", " Anthophora Amegilla cincta , Dours", ANIC 32-034445.

Discussions for synonymy.

Based on examination of the type material, we concur with Meade-Waldo’s (1914) decision to synonimise Amegilla emendata and Amegilla gilberti and Brooks’s (1988) decision to synonymise Amegilla lilacine . Meade-Waldo (1914) suggested that Smith’s (1879) description of the type of emmendata as a female is a typographical error. Although the holotype of Amegilla fabriciana does not have that name attached, it is the only specimen found bearing the name " Anthophora Amegilla cincta , Dours" and the other attached information is consistent with Rayment’s references to "wattle-and-daub walls" ( Rayment 1935), "a remarkably large female from a plaster cell. Maitland" (as Anthophora gilberti in Rayment 1939), which became “Dours’s bee … from the Hunter River" (Rayment 1941). Tergites 5 and 6, and the corresponding sternites, were missing from the specimen, presumably because they were mislaid after being used in the production of Fig III, 2 in Rayment (1941). Despite repeated references by Rayment to a length of 18 mm, our estimate is that the length of the intact specimen would have been 15 mm. All observable features of the specimen are consistent with its belonging to A. cingulata .

Diagnosis.

Amegilla cingulata is a distinctive species with metallic blue tergal hair bands and orange scutal pubescence in both sexes. Females lack a dark basitibial dark streak on the hind legs and the disc of T5 is without pale hair (Fig. 29 ).

Redescription.

Female: Levers Plateau, 28.33S 152.88E, Qld, 13 Mar 1966, T. F. Houston, WAM 5461.

Length 14 mm; forewing length 9 mm.

Structure. Head: clypeus protuberant, in profile 0.3 × width of eye; galea in repose reaching mid coxa; length of f1 2.9 × length of f2, 0.8 × length of scape (excluding basal bulb) and 1.5 × length of f10; f3-9 as long as wide; IOD 1.1 × OOD; OS 0.5 × OOD. Coloration. Yellow marks on labrum, mandibles, scape, clypeus, paraocular and supraclypeal areas; inverted T-shape on clypeus; distal part of flagellum brown ventrally from f2. Pubescence. Head: labrum white, remaining areas white to light ginger, darker towards vertex and intermixed with black hairs on clypeus, paraocular areas, frons, near ocelli and on vertex; gena white, light ginger towards vertex. Thorax: scutum orange intermixed with black hairs; pleura orange with few black hairs under wing base, white ventrally; thoracic sterna white; propodeum laterally ginger with few black hairs. Legs: forefemur posteriorly with long white hairs, outer surface of fore tibia and -tarsus light ginger, inner surface of tarsus brown; mid legs black, except light ginger hairs on apex of femur and on outer surface of tibia and basitarsus, hairs on basitarsus lighter than on tibia; posterior proximal part of femur with a narrow line of light ginger hairs; hind legs black, except ginger hairs on apex of femur, scopa and basal part of basitarsus, a white tuft on apex of tibia; basitibial streak absent. Metasoma: apical hair bands on T1-T4 white with electric blue iridescence; T5 laterally white (Fig. 29 ), fimbria brown, medial patch absent; S3, S4 brown, posterolateral patches of white hairs; S5 brown. Punctation. Head: clypeus with close medium to large, deep punctures, 0.2-1.0 puncture widths apart; labrum somewhat shiny, with close, medium, deep punctures, 0.2-0.6 puncture widths apart. Thorax: scutum shiny, with close punctures, 0.2-0.8 puncture widths apart. Metasoma: T1-T5 with close to open punctures, 0.5-1.0 puncture widths apart.

Male: Bombana National Park, 27.47S 153.02E, Qld, 16 Mar 1966, T. F. Houston, WAM 5462.

Length 13 mm; forewing length 8 mm.

Structure. Head: shortest distance between eyes 0.8 length of eye; clypeus protuberant, in profile 0.5 width of eye; galea in repose reaching mid coxa; length of f1 1.3 × length of f2, 0.5 × length of scape (excluding basal bulb) and 0.8 × length of f11; length of f3-10 1.2 × width; IOD 1.2 × OOD; OS 0.5 × OOD. Wings: length of marginal cell 0.9 × distance from apex of marginal cell to wing tip; vein M of hind wing 2.3 times as long as second abscissa of M+Cu; length of jugal lobe about 0.5 × length of vannal lobe. Metasoma: apicomedial emargination of S5 intermediate width and depth; S7 windows medium size, median hair brush 4 × width, lateral wings of hair brush narrow almost perpendicular to the long axis (Fig. 42 ); S8 apical emargination deep. Pubescence. Head: labrum white; clypeus and paraocular marks predominantly black, remainder ginger with scattered black hairs on frons, near ocelli and on vertex; gena white, light ginger towards vertex. Thorax: scutum orange intermixed with black hairs; pleura orange under wing base, turning white ventrally; thoracic sterna and propodeum laterally orange. Legs: forefemur posteriorly with long white hairs, outer surface of tibia and tarsus pale yellow, inner surface of tarsus brown; mid legs brown, except pale ginger hairs on apex of femur, posteriorly proximally on femur and on outer surface of tibia and basitarsus; hind legs black, except orange hairs on apex of femur and outer surface of tibia and a very small tuft on base of basitarsus, apex of tibia white. Metasoma: apical hair bands on T1-T5 white with electric blue iridescence; T6-T7 black when viewed from behind, brown when viewed from side; T7 black; S2-S5 pale brown with white lateral patches; S6 black when viewed from behind, brown when viewed from side. Punctation. Head: clypeus punctures 1.0-3.0 puncture widths apart; labrum with medium, shallow punctures 0.5-2.0 puncture widths apart. Thorax: scutum somewhat shiny with close to open, medium, shallow punctures 0.2-2.0 puncture widths apart. Metasoma: T1-T5 somewhat shiny, with close, fine, shallow punctures, 0.8-1.5 puncture widths apart.

Variation.

The thoracic hair, especially of females, is consistently bright orange, but the metasomal bands are seldom infused with orange and even then, the colour is mostly restricted to the band on T1. The colour of the flagellum is variable, as in Amegilla asserta . Two females were found with a few white hairs on T5 forming the narrowest of longitudinal lines.

Phenology.

Distribution.

Along the east coast of New South Wales and Queensland (Fig. 8 ).

Figures

Figure 3 - 14. Distribution maps ● indicate museum record, ʘ indicates DNA specimen.

Figure 24 - 37. Apical tergites of females, especially T 5. 24 Amegilla aeruginosa 25 Amegilla chlorocyanea 26 Amegilla adelaidae 27 Amegilla alpha 28 Amegilla asserta 29 Amegilla cingulata 30 Amegilla indistincta 31 Amegilla karlba 32 Amegilla murrayensis 33 Amegilla paeninsulae 34 Amegilla pulchra 35 Amegilla thorogoodi 36 Amegilla viridicingulata 37 Amegilla walkeri.

Figures 38 - 50. S 7 of males. 38 Amegilla aeruginosa 39 Amegilla chlorocyanea 40 Amegilla adelaidae 41 Amegilla asserta 42 Amegilla cingulata 43 Amegilla indistincta 44 Amegilla karlba 45 Amegilla murrayensis 46 Amegilla paeninsulae 47 Amegilla pulchra 48 Amegilla thorogoodi 49 Amegilla viridicingulata 50 Amegilla walkeri.