Trichocolletes grandis, Batley, 2012

Batley, Michael, 2012, Revision of the Australian Bee Genus Trichocolletes Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Paracolletini), Records of the Australian Museum (Rec. Aust. Mus.) 64 (1), pp. 1-50 : 21-22

Trichocolletes grandis n.sp.

Figs 11 , 60 , 97

Type. Holotype ♂, 50 km SE Broken Hill , New South Wales (32.1831°S 141.9067°E), 8 Sep. 2007, M. Batley, ex Swainsona viridis , in AM K.278552.

Specimens examined. The holotype and the following. New South Wales: 5♀, same data as holotype, AM (K.344718–22) ; 5♀, 50 km E Broken Hill (31.8875°S 141.9592°E), 7 Sep. 2007, M. Batley, ex Swainsona viridis, AM (K.344714–17,28) ; 5♀, 18 km S Ivanhoe (33.0036°S 144.4433°E), 25 Sep. 2010, M. Batley, AM (K.344723–27) ; 2♀, Kinchega NP (32.4272°S 142.3497°E), 29 Sep. 2003, M. Batley, ex Swainsona purpurea, AM (K.344712–13). South Australia : 2♂, 4♀, 42 km E Coober Pedy on Oodnadatta Rd , late July 1991, B. Greenwood, ANIC .

Diagnosis

Length c. 13 mm; eyes hairy; metasomal bands silver; gena wide; vertex elevated; colour of metasoma variable. Labrum usually black in both sexes, but see comments on variation. Male gena with dense white hair.

Variation

Specimens collected at Coober Pedy were strikingly different in colour from those collected elsewhere. Males differed primarily in the colour of the pubescence, but females exhibited altered integumental colour. The metasoma of females was mostly red, legs brown and labrum amber, instead of black. Coober Pedy females retained weak metasomal hair bands but the integumental colour bands on the terga were frequently indistinct. One specimen exhibited intermediate colouring, with large areas of dark brown on T 1,2, integumental metasomal colour bands and darker legs. Both sexes from Coober Pedy had strongly orange-brown pubescence, but this may have been the result of mineral staining. In all other respects, including the elevated vertex, dense genal hair and intermediate length setae on the eyes, the specimens were identical to those from other locations.

The scapes of one male specimen were black, but all other males had orange scapes.

Descriptions

Male (holotype).— Head width 4.05 mm, body length 12.6 mm. Relative dimensions: HW 50, HL 41, UID 32, UFW 33, LID 32, DMA 33, HVO 4, WOC 14, MOD 3, OOD 9, IAD 9, ASD 3, AOD 8, ML 18, BMW 8, MSL 1.0, SL 14, SW 4, FL c. 44.— Eyes hairy, but length of setae about half that in other hairy-eyed species, face broad, inner orbits approximately parallel, malar area short (length c. 0.1× basal mandibular width), clypeus protuberant, vertex elevated, gena 0.7× as wide as eye viewed laterally, flagellum shorter than head width, middle flagellomeres c. 1.4× as long as wide. Legs slender, hind tarsus 1.1× as long as hind tibia, hind basitarsus 3.9× as long as wide, posterior carina of basitibial area reaches apex. Genital capsule similar to that for T. orientalis n.sp. (Fig. 37); S7 with slightly rounded, rectangular lateral lobes and large basal teeth ( Fig. 60 ).— Scape, small area of mandible medially, tarsi, hind tibia, small areas on fore and T. venustus

T. nitens n.sp.

mid tibiae and flagellomeres F2–7 ventrally, orange-brown. T 1–5 with moderately broad, silver bands.— Clypeus with dense, fine punctures except rim impunctate and polished, scutum dull with strong pit-reticulation and small, close to dense punctures.— Face with dense, long, pale orange hair, finely-branched on clypeus, becoming plumose towards vertex, gena with very dense, finely-branched white hair. Scutum closely covered with long, plumose, pale orange hair, fore basitarsus with pale gold plume, anterior margin of hind tibia with sparse fringe long, white hair, metasoma with scattered, erect, white hair in addition to the normal semi-adpressed hair matching the underlying integument.

Female ( AM K.344714).— Head width 4.05 mm, body length 13.0 mm. Relative dimensions: HW 50, HL 40, UID 31, UFW 33, LID 33, DMA 34, HVO 5, WOC 14, MOD 3, OOD 9, IAD 9, ASD 3, AOD 10, ML 18, BMW 8, MSL 1.0, SL 15, SW 3, FL c. 33.— Eyes hairy, length of setae as for male, face broad, inner orbits approximately parallel, malar space short (length c. 0.1× basal mandibular width),

clypeus convex both longitudinally and transversely with small longitudinal depression medially, vertex elevated, gena 0.85× as wide as eye viewed laterally, middle flagellomeres as long as wide, inner hind tibial spur with c. 7 teeth, tarsal claws simple, pygidial plate broad, entire, without medial elevation.— Mandible medially red-brown. T 1–4 with moderately broad, silver bands.— Clypeus reticulate with large, close to dense punctures, sculpture of scutum as for male.— Face with long, white, finely-branched hair, close to dense in paraocular areas and on frons, open on clypeus, gena with close to dense long, white, finely-branched hair. Scutum with close to dense moderately long, plumose, pale orange hair. T 1–4 with weak but distinct apical hair bands covering the silver integumental bands, prepygidial fimbra pale brown, tibial scopa white, darker near basitibial area.

Etymology. The specific name is a Latin adjective referring to the relatively large size of this species.

Distribution. Arid areas of western New South Wales and South Australia (BHC, DRP, RIV, STP) ( Fig. 97 ).

Figures

Figs 10–13. Faces of female Trichocolletes with elevated (10 and 11) or normal (12 and 13) vertex.

Figs 56–67. Seventh sternum of Trichocolletes males.

Figs 92–103. Known distribution of Trichocolletes species.