Andrena (Poliandrena) breviceps Wood, 2020

Wood, Thomas James, Michez, Denis, Cejas, Diego, Lhomme, Patrick & Rasmont, Pierre, 2020, An update and revision of the Andrena fauna of Morocco (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Andrenidae) with the description of eleven new North African species, ZooKeys 974, pp. 31-92 : 31

Andrena (Poliandrena) breviceps Wood sp. nov. Figures 83-86

Material.

Holotype: Morocco: Drâa-Tafilalet, 10 km N Erfoud, 10.iv.1995, 1♀, leg. Ma. Halada. Deposited in the OÖLM. Paratypes: Morocco: Drâa-Tafilalet, 10 km N Erfoud, 10.iv.1995, 2♀, leg. Ma. Halada, OÖLM; Drâa-Tafilalet, 20 km E Agdz, 20.iv.1995, 2♀, leg. Mi. Halada, OÖLM; Drâa-Tafilalet, Tagounite, 60 km S Zagora, 23.iv.1995, 1♀, leg. Ma. Halada, OÖLM. Paratypes are deposited at the OÖLM with a female retained in the personal collection of TJW.

Diagnosis.

The subgenus Poliandrena Warncke, 1968 is currently unsatisfactorily defined (females keying out in three places in Warncke’s 1968a key) and will probably be broken up in the future as it has been shown to be strongly polyphyletic ( Pisanty et al. 2020). It predominantly contains Mediterranean species that have heads that are short and broad (Fig. 84 ), short facial foveae, strongly punctate metasomas (Fig. 86 ), and often show a propodeal triangle that is defined by an external carina and internal rugosity (but not honeycomb-areolate, Warncke 1968a). As such, members of the Poliandrena are often recognised by their similarity to each other rather than by a single character per se, in other words a wastebasket taxon.

Andrena breviceps is small relative to the rest of the Poliandrena , comparable in size to A. marsae Schmiedeknecht, 1900 and A. laurivora Warncke, 1974, two of the smallest Poliandrena , but A. breviceps can easily be separated from them by the colour of the tergites which are dark brown (red in A. marsae , dark metallic green-blue in A. laurivora ) and the sculpturing of the scutum which is shiny and (relatively within the Poliandrena ) sparsely punctate, punctures separated by 2-3 puncture diameters (Fig. 75 , separated by less than ½ a puncture diameter in A. marsae and by one puncture diameter in A. laurivora , underlying integument shagreened, with a metallic glint). It is also similar to the larger A. relata Warncke, 1967 which is newly recorded for Morocco (see below) because of their similar dark tergites and general appearance. However, it can also be separated using the same scutal punctation character (in A. relata punctures dense laterally, centrally separated by at most two puncture diameters) and also by the clypeus where A. breviceps has a central longitudinal impunctate line that is not present in A. relata . Overall, the shiny and relatively sparsely punctate scutum (Fig. 75 ) in combination with its small size should allow separation from other Poliandrena from North Africa.

Description.

Female: Body length 8.5-9 mm (Fig. 83 ). Head: Black, clearly wider than long (Fig. 84 ). Clypeus broad, arched, with large punctures, punctures separated by one puncture diameter except for a central slightly raised impunctate line, underlying surface uneven, slightly but irregularly raised between punctures, shining. Process of labrum broadly trapezoidal, fore margin weakly emarginate. Gena as wide as width of compound eye. Gena, vertex, face, and scape with moderately dense white hairs, longest of these not exceeding length of the scape. Foveae moderately broad, occupying 2/3 of distance between the of compound eye and lateral ocellus, of normal length, not extending below the level of the antennal insertions. Antennae bright, scape and pedicel dark, A3 apically marked with orange, A4-12 predominantly orange, A3 exceeding A4+5, shorter than A4+5+6. Ocelloccipital distance short, ½ width of lateral ocellus. Mesosoma: Scutum and scutellum moderately punctured, punctures separated by 1-2 puncture diameters, underlying surface shiny, very weakly shagreened laterally and anteriorly (Fig. 85 ). Margins of scutum and scutellum with short, dense whitish hairs, these extending only very sparsely onto the disc. Episternum and propodeum microreticulate, dull, propodeum with weak rugosity, propodeal triangle defined with small but clear slightly raised carina, propodeal triangle with sparse and weak rugosity centrally. Episternum and propodeum with white hairs, longest not exceeding length of the scape. Legs dark, tarsi lightened brown, pubescence whitish to brownish. Femoral and tibial scopa white. Wings hyaline, venation and stigma brown. Nervulus antefurcal. Metasoma: Tergites brownish, margins slightly depressed, lightened white to yellow, apically translucent (Fig. 86 ). Tergites densely, evenly, and finely punctate, punctures separated by one puncture diameter, underlying surface very weakly shagreened, shining. T1 with two small lateral hair patches of white hair on apical margin, T2-4 apically with complete white hair bands obscuring underlying surface. T5-6 with golden hairs flanking pygidial plate. Pygidial plate rounded triangular, flat, without raised margin.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution.

The eastern Moroccan desert in the province of Drâa-Tafilalet (Fig. 145c ).

Floral preferences.

None recorded.

Etymology.

The name brevi (short) + ceps (head) was chosen because of the particularly short and wide head of this species, even within the Poliandrena .

Figures

Figure 145. Distribution of sampling locations of newly described species A Andrena hebescens (circles), Andrena semiadesus (squares) B Andrena tenebricorpus (diamond), Andrena niveofacies (circle), Andrena triangulivalvis (triangle) C Andrena sparsipunctata (circles), Andrena breviceps (diamonds) D Andrena acutidentis (squares), Andrena farinosoides (triangles), Andrena nigriclypeus (circle). Relief is indicated by shading, measured in meters above sea level.

Figures 83 - 86. Andrena (Poliandrena) breviceps sp. nov. 83 female profile 84 female head 85 female dorsum 86 female tergites.

Figures 71 - 76. Andrena (Notandrena) acutidentis sp. nov. 71 male profile 72 male face 73 male gena 74 male dorsum 75 male tergites 76 male genitalia.