Lasioglossum (Dialictus) rufodeludens, Gardner & Gibbs, 2023

Gardner, Joel & Gibbs, Jason, 2023, Revision of the Nearctic species of the Lasioglossum (Dialictus) gemmatum species complex (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 858 (1), pp. 1-222 : 156-161

Lasioglossum (Dialictus) rufodeludens sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D04BB5BC-FD13-4140-8449-9CA4A9A6C241

Figs 57– 59 , 76N

Diagnosis

Females of L. rufodeludens sp. nov. have the tegula relatively small (maximum length half or less ITS and barely reaching posterior margin of mesoscutum in dorsal view if at all), yellow-orange, impunctate, and with inner posterior margin straight; mesoscutum and mesepisternum completely dull, tessellate to imbricate; postgena smooth, shiny or lineolate; T1 anterior slope shiny (sometimes weakly coriarious but not appearing dull), and metasoma red-orange.

Females of L. rufodeludens sp. nov. are most similar to those of L. deludens sp. nov., L. ellisiae , and L. profundum sp. nov. Females of L. ellisiae have the tegula at least sparsely punctate and the inner posterior margin sinuous, mesoscutum and mesepisternum posterior half often shiny, postgena lineate, and T1 anterior slope dull and coriarious. See the diagnosis for L. deludens for a comparative diagnosis between the other similar species.

Males of L. rufodeludens sp. nov. have the tegula relatively small (as in the female); mesoscutum tessellate and moderately densely punctate (IS = 1–2 PD); and face with dense tomentum up to eye emargination. They are most similar to those of L. deludens sp. nov. and L. profundum sp. nov. See the diagnosis for L. deludens for a comparative diagnosis between these three species.

Both sexes are also somewhat similar to those of L. gemmatum and L. surianae , which have the tegula at least obscurely punctate and are restricted to the Caribbean islands and Florida keys. Females of these species also have the mesepisternum shiny, and males have the face with tomentum limited to lower paraocular area.

Etymology

The specific epithet ʻ rufodeludens ʼ is a participle derived from the Latin adjective ʻ rufo ʼ (red) plus the present participle ʻ deludens ʼ (deceiving). It refers to this species’ red metasoma and its close similarity to L. deludens sp. nov. An appropriate translation would be the red deceiving sweat bee.

Material examined

Holotype UNITED STATES – Texas • ♀; Hidalgo Co., Bentsen Rio Grande State Park ; 26.186° N, 98.374° W; 16 Mar. 2007; J.L. Neff leg.; ex Salix nigra ; PCYU.

[Verbatim label: 32047 // TEXAS: Hidalgo Co. / Bentsen Rio Grande SP / 26.186° N 98.374° W / 16- iii-2007 J.L. Neff // on flowers of Salix nigra // CCDB-01566 H2 // Lasioglossum (Dialictus) hunteri det J.L. Neff 2008 // HOLOTYPE / Lasioglossum (Dialictus) rufodeludens Gardner and Gibbs ]

Paratypes

MEXICO – Nuevo Leon • 1 ♀, 4 ♂♂; 4 km S of Linares ; [24.81° N, 99.55° W]; elev. 400 m; 22 Mar. 1991; R. Brooks, R. Leschen leg.; ex Prosopis laevigata ; SEMC . – Tamaulipas • 1 ♂; 22 mi. S of Jiménez; [23.9° N, 98.48° W]; 15 Jun. 1953; University of Kansas Mexico Expedition leg.; ex Lippia ; SEMC • 1 ♀; 8 mi. NE of San Fernando ; [24.93° N, 98.06° W]; 27 Aug. 1954; SEMC • 1 ♀, 1 ♂; 8 mi. S of Jiménez ; [24.1° N, 98.49° W]; 15 Jun. 1953; SEMC • 1 ♀; Jaumave , “El Chihue”; [23.4° N, 99.37° W]; 19 Oct. 1995; Larisa Loya leg.; BBSL1101050 • 1 ♀, 1 ♂; Jiménez; [24.22° N, 98.49° W]; 19 Jul. 1962; University of Kansas Mexico Expedition leg.; SEMC .

UNITED STATES – Texas • 1 ♀; Eagle Pass ; [28.71° N, 100.5° W]; 13 Nov. 1965; W.F. Chamberlain leg.; TAMU-ENTO X1389895 .

Description

Female

COLOURATION. Head and mesosoma blue to olive green; clypeus apex black; labrum reddish brown; mandible orange with black base and red apex; flagellum black dorsally, brown ventrally. Pronotal lobe reddish brown; legs reddish brown with femur-tibia joints and tarsi orange; tegula orange; wing membrane lightly infuscated, veins with subcosta dark brown, otherwise brown. Metasoma orange with dark spiracular spots on T3–T4 and rims of terga and sterna broadly translucent.

PUBESCENCE. Body pile colour white. Tomentum dense on gena, pronotal collar and lobe, and space between pronotal lobe and tegula; sparse on paraocular area, T2–T3 basolaterally, and T4 throughout. Mesoscutum pubescence thin to moderately plumose. Wing setae dark, short and dense. Acarinarial fan complete, dense. T2 fringes sparse, T3 fringes sparse.

SURFACE SCULPTURE. Clypeus shiny, with punctures dense in basal third (IS ≤ 1 PD), large and irregularly sparse apically (IS <2 PD); supraclypeal area shiny, with punctures moderately dense (IS = 1–2 PD); paraocular area imbricate around antenna socket, otherwise shiny, with punctures dense (IS <1 PD), sparser around antenna socket (IS ≤ 1 PD); frons shiny, with punctures fine, dense (IS <1 PD); vertex shiny, with punctures dense laterally (IS ≤ 1 PD), minute and sparse medially (IS = 2–4 PD); gena shiny, with punctures absent; postgena lineolate, becoming shiny anteriorly. Tegula punctures absent; mesoscutum tessellate, with punctures dense (IS ≤ 1 PD), becoming sparser anteromedially (IS = 1–2 PD); scutellum tessellate, becoming shiny submedially, with punctures dense marginally (IS <1 PD), moderately sparse submedially (IS = 1–2 PD); metapostnotum shiny, with rugae strong, anastomosing, reaching posterior margin; preëpisternum areolate-rugulose; hypoepimeron weakly imbricate, with punctures dense (IS <1 PD); mesepisternum imbricate, with punctures dense (IS <1 PD); metepisternum weakly rugulose; propodeum lateral surface rugulose anteriorly, tessellate posteriorly, posterior surface tessellate. T1 anterior slope shiny, disc shiny, with punctures moderately sparse (IS = 1–2 PD), absent in large subapicolateral boss and on rim medially; T2 disc shiny, with punctures moderately dense (IS = 1–2 PD), apical rim weakly coriarious, with punctures minute, sparse (IS = 2–4 PD).

STRUCTURE. Face length/width ratio 0.81 (± 0.01 SD); clypeus apicolateral denticles low rounded knobs; gena/eye width ratio 0.89 (±0.07 SD). Pronotal angle slightly obtuse, nearly right-angled; intertegular span 0.77 (± 0.05 SD) mm; mesoscutum length/width ratio 0.86 (± 0.03 SD); mesoscutum/scutellum length ratio 2.78 (± 0.25 SD); scutellum/metanotum length ratio 1.71 (± 0.18 SD); metanotum/metapostnotum length ratio 0.74 (± 0.08 SD); forewing with 3 submarginal cells; tegula enlarged, reaching posterior margin of mesoscutum; inner margin straight; tegula length 0.35 (±0.02 SD) mm, width 0.2 (± 0.01 SD) mm; propodeum lateral carinae not reaching dorsal margin; oblique carina strong, straight. T2 depressed apical rim less than 50% of tergum. (n = 7)

VARIATION. The mesoscutum punctures can vary from moderately sparse (IS = 1–2 PD) to dense (IS ≤1 PD) and the clypeus apical half, labrum, and pronotal lobe can vary from dark reddish brown to orange.

Male

COLOURATION. Head and mesosoma blue-green to olive green; clypeus apex black; labrum orange; mandible orange with black basal spot and red apex; flagellum reddish brown dorsally, orange ventrally. Pronotal lobe orange; legs reddish brown; tegula orange; wing membrane lightly infuscated, veins dark brown. Metasoma black with depressed apical rims and downcurved lateral areas of terga broadly translucent reddish brown.

PUBESCENCE. Body pile colour white. Tomentum dense on face below eye emargination, gena, pronotal angle and lobe, and space between pronotal lobe and tegula; sparse on metepisternum. Mesoscutum pubescence simple to moderately plumose. Wing setae dark, short and dense. Sterna pubescence short (<1 OD), moderately plumose, sparse.

SURFACE SCULPTURE. Clypeus shiny, with punctures dense (IS <1 PD); supraclypeal area shiny, with punctures dense (IS ≤ 1 PD); paraocular area shiny, with punctures fine, crowded (IS = 0 PD); frons shiny, with punctures fine, crowded (IS = 0 PD); vertex shiny, with punctures dense (IS <1 PD); gena shiny, with punctures fine, dense (IS ≤ 1 PD); postgena imbricate-lineate. Tegula punctures absent; mesoscutum tessellate, becoming shiny posterolaterally, with punctures dense (IS ≤ 1 PD), becoming slightly sparser submedially (IS = 1–2 PD); scutellum shiny, with punctures dense (IS ≤ 1 PD); metanotum finely rugulose; metapostnotum shiny to imbricate, with rugae shallow, subparallel, nearly reaching posterior margin; preëpisternum shiny with crowded punctures (IS = 0 PD); hypoepimeron shiny, with punctures crowded (IS = 0 PD); mesepisternum shiny, with punctures crowded (IS = 0 PD); metepisternum areolate, becoming smooth dorsally; propodeum lateral surface shiny to imbricate, with punctures dense (IS ≤ 1 PD), posterior surface shiny and densely punctate (IS ≤1 PD). T1 anterior slope shiny, disc shiny, with punctures fine, moderately dense (IS = 1–2 PD), becoming sparse in small subapicolateral boss (IS = 1–4 PD) and absent on rim; T2 disc shiny, with punctures moderately dense (IS = 1–2 PD), apical rim shiny, with punctures absent.

STRUCTURE. Face length/width ratio 0.86 (±0.02 SD); gena/eye width ratio 0.66 (± 0.09 SD). Pronotal angle obtuse; intertegular span 0.7 (± 0.03 SD) mm; mesoscutum length/width ratio 0.91 (± 0.02 SD); mesoscutum/scutellum length ratio 2.84 (± 0.19 SD); scutellum/metanotum length ratio 1.84 (±0.17 SD); metanotum/metapostnotum length ratio 0.68 (± 0.1 SD); forewing with 3 submarginal cells; tegula enlarged, nearly reaching posterior margin of mesoscutum in dorsal view; inner posterior margin straight; tegula length 0.34 (± 0.01 SD) mm, width 0.19 (± 0 SD) mm; propodeum lateral carinae not reaching dorsal margin; oblique carina absent. (n = 5)

GENITALIA. As in Fig. 76N . Gonocoxite about 1.7 times as broad as gonostylus. Gonostylus rounded on outer margin with no concavities, sinuous on inner margin, with sparse long setae in middle of inner margin and short setae apically. Penis valves divergent apically. Retrorse lobe rounded, about 2.5 times as long as broad, evenly covered in short sparse setae.

VARIATION. The mesoscutum can vary from entirely tessellate to partially shiny posterolaterally and the metapostnotum can vary from mostly shiny to mostly imbricate.

Range

Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and southern Texas ( Fig. 59 ).

Floral hosts

FABACEAE : Prosopis : P. laevigata (Willd.) M.C.Johnst. • SALICACEAE : Salix : S. nigra • VERBENACEAE : Lippia L.

DNA barcodes

One confirmed sequence available (BOLD process ID: BOWGF941-09). It is most similar in terms of p-distance to L. deludens sp. nov. (1.59% minimum interspecific p-distance). Four fixed nucleotide substitutions distinguish L. rufodeludens sp. nov. from all other Nearctic species of the L. gemmatum complex: 102(C), 196(C), 537(G), and 630(T) (Supp. file 2).

There are five very similar sequences from Estación Biologia de Chamela, Jalisco, which are not believed to be conspecific. In addition to the extreme geographic separation, one of the Jalisco specimens was photographed and it has a dark brown, punctate tegula.

Comments

Rare. The scarcity of specimens may be due in part to a lack of collecting effort in far southern Texas and northeastern Mexico, where L. rufodeludens sp. nov. is evidently restricted.

Figures

Fig. 57. Lasioglossum (D.) rufodeludens sp. nov., ♀, holotype (PCYU). A. Dorsal habitus. B. Lateral habitus. C. Face. D. Metasoma. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 58. Lasioglossum (D.) rufodeludens sp. nov., ♂ (SEMC). A. Lateral habitus. B. Dorsal habitus. C. Face. D. Metasoma and propodeum. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 59. Georeferenced collection records of Lasioglossum (D.) rufodeludens sp. nov. (black squares) and predicted distribution by maximum entropy ecological niche modelling in Maxent (colour shading). Warmer colours indicate higher cloglog probability of occurrence.

Fig. 76. Male genitalia illustrated in dorsal view and positioned such that the gonostylus is parallel to the plane of vision. Retrorse lobes are also illustrated separately to the bottom left of each figure in lateral view, positioned parallel to the plane of vision. A. Lasioglossum (D.) angelicum sp. nov.B. L. (D.) coactus (Cresson, 1872). C. L. (D.) deludens sp. nov. D. L. (D.) diabolicum sp. nov.E. L. (D.) gaudiale (Sandhouse, 1924). F. L. (D.) gloriosum sp. nov. (the retrorse lobe was not visible for illustration). G. L. (D.) helianthi (Cockerell, 1916). H. L. (D.) holzenthali sp. nov. I. L. (D.) indagator sp. nov. J. L. (D.) magnitegula sp. nov. K. L. (D.) perparvum (Ellis, 1914). L. L. (D.) profoundum sp. nov. M. L. (D.) pseudotegulare (Cockerell, 1896). N. L. (D.) rufodeludens sp. nov. This genital capsule was damaged during dissection and some details may be slightly distorted.O. L. (D.) stictaspis (Sandhouse, 1923) (holotype) (reproduced from Gardner & Gibbs 2022). P. L. (D.) tegulariforme (Crawford, 1907) (reproduced from Gardner & Gibbs 2022). Scale bars = 0.25 mm.