Centris (Hemisiella) tarsata F. Smith

Genaro, Julio A. & Breto, Dayron, 2024, The genus Centris Fabricius in Cuba, with a new record and the description of a new species (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila), Insecta Mundi 2024 (41), pp. 1-26 : 17-19

Centris (Hemisiella) tarsata F. Smith

( Fig. 53–63 )

Centris tarsata F. Smith 1874: 371 . Lectotype male in NHMUK (Catalog number NHMUK010812611 ).

Diagnosis. Both sexes have greenish yellow pilosity on the head and mesosoma ( Fig. 53–55, 57-59 ). In males, there is no spine-like projection on the posterior margin of the metabasitarsus, unlike in other males of the subgenus; pilosity on the posterior surface of the hind tibia is whitish; and the metabasitarsus has dark brown pubescence. In females, the surface of the clypeal disc is areolate, and without a longitudinal carina, and pale hairs on the hind tibiae are white to pale yellowish ( Vivallo and Vélez 2016; Vivallo and Zanela 2012; Roig-Alsina 2000; Vivallo 2020b). Vivallo (2020b) studied the type material of C. tarsata and offered information about its taxonomy. A sample from Cuba shares a BIN with a sample from Argentina, supporting their status as conspecific ( Fig. 64 ).

Natural history. The species had not been previously observed either in collections or in natural areas by other entomologists, nor had it been reported by the senior author (JAG) who was actively collecting in Cuba until 2004. This possibly indicates a recent introduction to the island. Although Cuba has been relatively closed to foreign investment and trade, especially with Latin America, in 2014 a significant expansion of the El Mariel Port was inaugurated. Construction, though, began years earlier with the involvement of South American countries, primarily Brazil. This involved the mobilization and displacement of heavy machinery and equipment, which could have transported nests of Centris tarsata , as it is a species that nests in cavities. The El Mariel Port is located in the western part of the island where the species’ activity has been more frequently observed, which is consistent with the hypothesis that the movement of construction equipment and materials during the project served as an entry point for the species into the island.

Alexander Kroupa (pers. comm., 2023 to DB) has collected the species in the central part of Cuba . Moreover, trap nests that were set up by A. Kroupa were rapidly colonized by nesting females. The species was active in Pinar del Río, visiting bare ground mostly of trails to collect sandy soil for nest construction ( Fig. 61 ). This information is evidence that the species is adapting and reproducing in Cuban ecosystems.

Centris tarsata was more commonly observed in open areas of coastal habitats and secondary vegetation near rural human settlements.

Floral relations. Previous records: Bourreria havanensis ( Boraginaceae ) ( Alameda et al. 2023, as C. fulviventris ). New records: Malpighia emarginata Moçiño & Sessé ex DC., Stigmaphyllom sp., Mascagnia sp. ( Malpighiaceae ); Securidaca elliptica Turcz ( Polygalaceae ); Tridax procumbens ( Asteraceae ); Lantana sp. , Stachytarpheta jamaicensis

(L.) Vahl., S. cayennensis (Rich.) Vahl ( Verbenaceae ); Sida acuta Burm.f. , Melochia spicata ( Malvaceae ); Senna uniflora (Mill.) H. S. Irwin and Barneby , S. alata (L.) Roxb. (Leguminosae) ( Fig. 60 ).

Dórea et al. (2009) analyzed pollen residues found in nests, in Bahia State, Brazil (deciduous dryland vegetation), where the most frequently visited plant families were Leguminosae (49.3%) and Solanaceae (43.2%). Aguiar et al. (2010) found, in a tropical semiarid area of Brazil, Leguminosae and Malpighiaceae as the plant families most represented.

Distribution. South America ( Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia and Guyana; Central America ( Guatemala and Panama) ( Moure et al. 2007; Moure and Melo 2023). Felipe Vivallo (pers. comm., 2023) found one male and one female from Mexico in the collection of National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, which were lost in the fire that occurred in 2018, preventing further study.

First record. CUBA . San Diego de Los Baños , Pinar del Río, 22.67803213 -83.36691732, 3.v.2013, coll. D. Breto, (male, JAG) WI JAG 1206 , barcoded ; 28.ix.2013, coll. D. Breto (male, JAG) ; 10.viii.2014, coll. D. Breto (1 female, 2 males, DB); 4.viii.2015, v.2017, 14.vii.2018, coll. D. Breto (3 males, DB); 6.vii.2019, coll. D. Breto (female, DB); 12.vii.2019, coll. D. Breto (1 female, 2 males, DB); 30.iv.2021, coll. D. Breto (male, DB); xii.2022, coll. D. Breto (2 females, 1 male, DB); 16.ix.2022, 9.xii.2022, coll. D. Breto (2 males, DB); 5.i.2023, 16.ix.2023, coll. D. Breto (2 females, DB, JAG). Guanahacabibes, Faro Roncali, Pinar del Río, 21.86786424, -84.9509587, x.2022, coll. D. Breto (female, DB). Santa Cruz del Norte, Lomas de Galindo , Mayabeque, 23.06689, -81.73359, iii.2019, colls. D. Alameda and D. Font (female, IES), GA195.22 ; vi.2019, coll. D. Alameda (male, IES), 198.10 .

Villa Clara, Caibarién, Finca Vista Hermosa , 79.467 W / 22.495 N, 02 and 20-28.xii.2016 (Malaise trap), 19.i.2017, 7.i-19.ii.2017 (Malaise trap), 29.ix.2019, 28 and 29.viii.2023 (trap nest), 16.ix.2023 coll. A. Kroupa, 1ECF37, 890/ 424 female, 1ED0E7, 890/ 849 male, 1ED10A, 890/ 884 male, 1ED68C, 890/1996 male, 1ED3 BB, 890/1405 female, 1ED3C5, 890/1415 male, 1ED31C, 890/1283 male, 1EF122, 890/2238 male, 1F3FA4, 890/2242 male, 1F3FA5, 890/2243 female ( MCNC) ; Parque Nacional Caguanes , Sancti Spíritus, 16.viii.2019, 79.117 W / 22.392 N, coll. A. Kroupa, 1ED2E2, 911/ 27 female, 1ED2FD, 911/ 54 female, 1ED310, 911/ 73 female ( MCNC) ; Villa Clara, Caibarién East , 28.vi.2021, 79.519 W / 22.52 N, coll. Y. Solana Léon 1ED92A, 918/ 27 female ( MCNC) ; Villa Clara, 1 km N Dolores , 31.xii.2022, 79.424 W / 22.444 N, coll. A. Kroupa, 1EE74B, 924/ 91 male ( MCNC) ; Villa Clara, Caibarién, Finca La Amalia , 7.vii.2021, 25.viii-14.ix.2021 (Malaise trap), 14.ix.-02.x.2021 (Malaise trap) 15.ix.-10.x.2022 (Malaise trap), 16.ix.2023 (trap nest) 79.473 W / 22.491 N, coll. A. Kroupa, 1ED8F7, 919/ 393 female, 1EDE06, 919/ 974 female, 1 EDBDF, 919/ 762 male, 1EE180, 919/1326 female, 1F3FA2, 919/1739 male, 1F3FA3, 919/1740 female ( MCNC). All material collected by A. Kroupa appeared identified as C. lanipes in his collection )

Non-preserved material. CUBA, Caimanera , Guantánamo Naval Base, 16.vii.2019, coll. W. Fidler, male (identified as Centris lanipes and C. fulviventris ); iNaturalist record #30971037.

Figures

Figure 64. Neighbour-joining tree of the COI barcode sequences of some Antillean Centris species. Each sample is labeled with the following information: species name, BOLD sample ID, Sequence/process ID, Sex (M=male, F=female), country and sequence length, with the number of ambiguous bases indicated in square brackets. Scale bar represents pairwise distance.

Figures 53–59. Centris tarsata. Female. 53) Dorsal habitus. 54) Lateral habitus. 55) Head in frontal view. 56) Basitibial plate. Male. 57) Head in frontal view. 58) Dorsal habitus. 59) Lateral habitus.

Figures 60–61. Centris tarsata females. 60) visiting flowers of Senna alata, Fabaceae, San Diego de los Baños, Pinar del Río. 61) collecting sandy soil for nest construction. Photos by D. Breto.

Figures 62–63. Centris tarsata. 62) Seasonal occurrence, according to sex. 63) Distribution.