Mendacibombus

Williams, Paul H., Huang, Jiaxing, Rasmont, Pierre & An, Jiandong, 2016, Early-diverging bumblebees from across the roof of the world: the high-mountain subgenus Mendacibombus revised from species’ gene coalescents and morphology (Hymenoptera, Apidae), Zootaxa 4204 (1), pp. 1-72 : 22-23

Key to Mendacibombus species for females

1. From the region including central and western Europe; hair of the thorax and metasomal T1‒2 either entirely black, or with yellow hairs intermixed extensively with the black in some parts, or if with broad pure yellow bands then both the posterior half of T2 is broadly black (rarely with a narrow yellow fringe) and the thoracic dorsum has a broad black band between the wing bases and on the face any yellow hairs are concentrated in a patch at the antennal base whereas the hairs at the side of the clypeus are black............................................................................ B. mendax

- From the region including Turkey and the Caucasus east to Kamchatka; hair of the thorax and metasomal T1‒2 either with white or many white-tipped hairs at least in parts, or if with broad pure yellow bands then either the posterior half of T2 is predominantly yellow or the thoracic dorsum is nearly uniformly yellow or the face has pale and black hairs intermixed evenly throughout......................................................................................... 2

2 (1). From the region including Turkey and the Caucasus east to Iran; hair of T3 black with very few or no orange hairs posteriorly, T4 orange, T6 orange with very few black hairs............................................... B. handlirschianus

- From the region including Afghanistan east to Kamchatka; hair of T4 either black and/or with white hairs, or if T4 is extensively orange then T3 is black usually with many orange hairs in a narrow posterior fringe or T3 with orange hairs with white tips, T6 at least medially with many black hairs............................................................. 3

3 (2). Hair of the thoracic dorsum either entirely black or black with white hairs evenly intermixed or black with white tips, T1 with black or black and orange hairs or with black and white hairs intermixed................................. B. waltoni

- Hair of the thoracic dorsum and T1 either with black hairs in part but with separate broad bands of yellow or white hairs or with yellow hairs nearly throughout...................................................................... 4

4 (3). Hair of T4‒5 without long orange hairs and with at least a few black hairs scattered nearly throughout, either sometimes with white tips or intermixed with white hairs at least in part...................................................... 5

- Hair of T4‒5 with long orange hairs at least in part and usually throughout, and without white hairs................... 6

5 (4). Hair of the thoracic dorsum anteriorly and T1 with many white hairs.................................. B. convexus

- Hair of the thoracic dorsum anteriorly and T1 with lemon-yellow hairs.................................. B. superbus

6 (4). Hair of the thoracic dorsum and T1 almost entirely yellow, at most with an obscure small spot of black hairs centrally between the wing bases........................................................................................7

- Hair of the thoracic dorsum and T1 yellow and/or white, but either usually with a black band or sometimes an obvious large spot of black hairs between the wing bases................................................................ 8

7 (6). Wings nearly clear; labrum with a broad convex transverse ridge, broader than the basal depression (adjacent to the clypeus) ( Fig. 15 ), clypeus in its central half with almost as many large as small punctures...................... B. marussinus

- Wings lightly clouded with brown; labrum with a narrow convex transverse ridge, narrower than the basal depression (adjacent to the clypeus) ( Fig. 16 ), clypeus in its central half with few large punctures relative to the number of small punctures......................................................................................... B. avinoviellus (part)

8 (6). From the region including northern Asia, Central Asia, south to the Hindu Kush and almost to the Karakorum; hair of the thoracic dorsum always with anterior and posterior pale (yellow or white) bands, the black band between the wing bases usually entirely black, and the pale hair of the side of the thorax and T1‒2 of the same colour as the pale dorsal thoracic bands, T6 laterally with orange hair................................................................................ 9

- From the region including the Himalaya northwest to the Karakorum; hair of the thoracic dorsum either usually with the black band between the wing bases intermixed with pale hair or with the posterior of the dorsum (scutellum) at least intermixed with black hair, or if the pale thoracic bands are white then the hair of T1 is yellow, or if the pale thoracic bands are yellow then either the side of the thorax is a strongly contrasting white or T6 is entirely black................................ 12

9 (8). Hindleg tibia with the posterior corbicular fringe of predominantly yellow or white hairs, sometimes orange at the base, with few or no dark hairs intermixed ( Fig. 23 ); hair of the thoracic dorsum with the black band between the wing bases narrow, side

of the thorax usually extensively pale, but sometimes only in the upper third; labrum with the transverse ridge broad and low, in the median third subsiding weakly with scattered punctures but not distinctly interrupted ( Fig. 17 )................. 10 - Hindleg tibia with the posterior corbicular fringe of black or orange hairs, hairs yellow or white at most only at the tips, with many dark hairs intermixed ( Figs 21‒22 ); hair of the thoracic dorsum with the black band between the wing bases usually broad, side of the thorax usually extensively black, but sometimes especially in workers pale throughout; labrum with the transverse ridge either in the median fifth subsiding and distinctly interrupted by punctures ( Fig. 18 ) or consistently high convex and uninterrupted ( Fig. 19 )........................................................................ 11

10 (9). Hindleg tibia with the posterior corbicular fringe predominantly yellow or white, any orange limited to close to the hair bases; side of the thorax in the lower third and the metasoma ventrally (S2‒3) entirely pale................... B. turkestanicus

- Hindleg tibia with the posterior corbicular fringe extensively yellow or white, the hairs often orange in the basal half; side of the thorax in the lower third and the metasoma ventrally (S2‒3) with at least some black hair............... B. makarjini

11 (9). Labrum with the transverse ridge in the median fifth subsiding flattened and interrupted by many dense punctures overflowing from the broad basal depression (adjacent to the clypeus) ( Fig. 18 ); hindleg tibia with all of the corbicular fringes usually black, any orange usually confined to the tips of the hairs, most often extensive on the mid-length hairs on the outer corbicular surface, but rarely with the fringes extensively orange ( Fig. 21 )........................................ B. defector

- Labrum with the transverse ridge in the median fifth consistently high, convex and not strongly subsiding, shiny and with only a few scattered punctures ( Fig. 19 ); hindleg tibia with the outer corbicular fringes (anteriorly and posteriorly, extending laterally from the outer surface) usually in part black especially anteriorly and proximally, the inner corbicular fringes (the long hairs anteriorly and posteriorly nearest the centre of the outer corbicular surface and often almost perpendicular to it) with many orange hairs especially posteriorly and the mid-length hairs on the outer corbicular surface orange or orange tipped ( Fig. 22 ; the orange is less apparent for individuals from Qinghai and Kamchatka, sometimes more extensive for individuals from Mongolia, all regions in which B. defector is not known to occur).................................... B. margreiteri

12 (8). Wings lightly clouded with brown; labrum with a narrow high transverse ridge, narrower than the basal depression (adjacent to the clypeus), the transverse ridge slightly angled (V-shaped) between the two lateral ends, the ridge in the median third convex and not subsiding and often with few large punctures ( Fig. 16 )................................. B. avinoviellus (part)

- Wings nearly clear; labrum with a broad low transverse ridge, broader than the basal depression (adjacent to the clypeus), the transverse ridge nearly straight between the two lateral ends, the ridge in the median third subsiding weakly and with many large punctures ( Fig. 20 ).................................................................. B. himalayanus

Figures

FIGURES 15 ‒ 23. Morphology of the female (queen) head from the ventral aspect (labrum and mandibles): 15, B. marussinus queen, Pakistan MD # 482; 16, B. avinoviellus queen, India MD # 598; 17, B. turkestanicus queen, Tajikistan MD # 320; 18, B. defector queen, Kyrgyzstan MD # 1080; 19, B. margreiteri queen, Mongolia MD # 319; 20, B. himalayanus queen, India MD # 453. Morphology of the female (queen) left hindleg tibia from the left lateral aspect, dorsal at the top of the image, anterior to the left: 21, B. defector, China MD # 1251; 22, B. margreiteri, Mongolia MD # 319; 23, B. turkestanicus, Kyrgyzstan MD # 324.