Scaptotrigona gonzalezi Engel, 2022

Engel, Michael S., 2022, Notes on South American stingless bees of the genus Scaptotrigona (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Part II: Subgroup A of the postica species group, Journal of Melittology 2022 (110), pp. 1-51 : 12-15

Scaptotrigona gonzalezi Engel , new species

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:34D177C8-A8F2-425A-BAF2-D233EC543988

( Figs. 12–17 )

DIAGNOSIS: This is one of a few South American species in which the genal tooth is lacking. It is similar to S. ederi (vide supra), but has a noticeably longer malar space ( Fig. 13 ), yellowish to fulvous bristles on the vertex and anterolateral areas of the mesoscutum, and nearly entirely fulvous bristles on the metabasitarsus ( Fig. 14 ). In addition, the concavity interrupting the preoccipital carina laterally is spanned by a continuation of the translucent lamella of the dorsal portion of the preoccipital ridge.

DESCRIPTION: As described for S. ederi (vide supra), with the following modifications: ⚲: Total body length approximately 6.1–6.4 mm, forewing length (to base of humeral sclerite) 6.0– 6.1 mm. Head wider than long, width 2.33–2.38 mm, length 2.00– 2.08 mm; compound eye length 1.39–1.42 mm; upper interorbital distance 1.63–1.65 mm, lower interorbital distance 1.52–1.53 mm. Scape length 0.91 mm, as long as torulocellar distance, torulocellar distance 0.91 mm. Clypeus approximately 1.7× as wide as long, length 0.61 mm, width 1.06 mm. Malar area approximately 1.9–2.0× flagellar diameter or 0.88–0.92× basal mandibular width. Preoccipital ridge carinate, weakly lamellate dorsally, with bordering medial indentation shallower than lateral indentations, laterally concavity interrupting carina comparatively shallow, lower margin of concavity with carina forming rounded angle, without sharply acute lamellate projection (genal tooth) extending upward, concavity spanned by translucent lamella.

Integument of labiomaxillary complex orange; clypeus largely orange to yellow orange except sometimes with small, triangular brown mark at mediobasal margin and apicolateral corners, epistomal sulcus well delineated by brown to black and subantennal areas sometimes infused with brown; supraclypeal area yellow orange to orange; malar space orange to yellow orange although sometimes blending to dark brown apically near mandibular base; face below tangent of antennal toruli orange to yellow orange, sometimes slightly darker toward lateral apical portion of epistomal sulcus; scape yellow orange to orange except with brown dorsoapically; pedicel and flagellum typically dark brown above, with underside of flagellum orange; face above antennal toruli orange to yellow orange below, blending to dark brown or black above, orange area either extending across width of face or with areas of dark brown extending downward to antennal toruli remainder of face dark brown to black, sometimes with small areas of light brown immediately above antennal toruli; vertex, posterior of head, and uppermost gena dark brown to black; remainder of gena and postgena orange to yellow orange. Mesosoma dark brown to black except pronotum largely brown to orange and pronotal lobe orange, mesoscutellum either largely orange or black blending to fulvous or orange apical margin, mesepisternum with areas of orange to fulvous on hypoepimeral area and sometimes upper mesepisternum anterior to hypoepimeral area, and sometimes as orange patch posteriorly along mesepisternal-metepisternal suture; legs typically yellow orange to dark reddish brown, lighter morphs with legs almost wholly yellow orange except patches of dark brown on femora and centrally on prolateral surfaces of meso- and metatibiae, dark morphs with legs largely reddish brown except lighter on coxae, trochanters, femoral basally, protibia and extreme bases of meso- and metatibiae, and all tarsi. Wing membranes lightly parchment colored, faintly darker around marginal cell apex. Metasoma generally dark brown to black except anterior-facing surface of tergum I typically reddish brown, dorsal-facing disc of tergum I medially lighter orange brown to orange, terga II– IV with variably developed apical marginal zones of orange brown to yellow orange, typically large on tergum II and narrow on remaining terga; sterna dark brown to reddish brown except orange in apical portions from which setae arise.

As in S. ederi except lacking areas of short, white, plumose setae, instead such setae yellow to pale yellow; scape with one suberect, simple bristle at base (frequently obscured or even sometimes broken off). Vertex with numerous erect, simple, yellow to fulvous bristles, sometimes a few lightly fuscous; pronotal dorsolateral margin near and anterior to pronotal lobe with yellow bristles, sometimes arched apically; mesoscutum anterior and lateral borders with erect yellow to dark fulvous bristles; tegula with short, suberect bristles anteriorly, such bristles typically yellow or lightly fulvous; mesoscutellum with abundant, elongate, erect bristles posteriorly, such bristles minutely pectinate apically, mesoscutellar bristles typically yellow to fulvous; mesepisternum with scatered, subdecumbent yellow to light fulvous bristles. Legs with abundant bristles, those on basal podites typically yellow to fulvous, those on meso- and metatibiae intermixed with fuscous bristles, except those of metatibia mostly black to dark fuscous and intermixed with fewer yellow bristles, although in lighter morph black bristles confined to prolateral surface along superior margin and corbicular surface apicad fundus; penicillum dark to light fulvous; rastellum yellow to fulvous; metabasitarsus with bristles yellow to light fulvous, sometimes with a few dark fulvous to lightly fuscous bristles in dark morph along proventral margin.

♀: Latet.

♂: Latet.

HOLOTYPE: ⚲, Colombia, Cauca, Bolivar, Vda. La Carbonera , 2010, col. D. Gómez ( SEMC).

PARATYPE: ⚲, Colombia, Cauca, El Patia, Carretera Bomba Chontural , 4-Jun-2010, col. G. Zambrano ( SEMC) .

ETYMOLOGY: The specific epithet honors Victor H. Gonzalez, good friend and prominent leader in melitological research, particularly of the Colombian fauna.

Figures

Figures 12–14. Worker of Scaptotrigona gonzalezi, new species. 12. Lateral habitus, darker work- er. 13. Facial view, darker worker. 14. Prolateral surface of metatibia, metatarsus, and metap- retarsus, darker worker.

Figures 15–17. Worker of Scaptotrigona gonzalezi, new species. 15. Lateral habitus, lighter work- er. 16. Facial view, lighter worker. 17. Mesosomal dorsum, lighter worker.