Aenarete Engel & Gonzalez, 2022

Engel, Michael S. & Gonzalez, Victor H., 2022, A new bee genus from the pampas of eastern Argentina, with appended notes on the classification of “ paracolletines ” (Hymenoptera: Colletidae), Journal of Melittology 2022 (109), pp. 1-39 : 2-4

Aenarete Engel & Gonzalez , new genus

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0BC66AE1-AA01-42ED-927F-C770412A9426

TYPE SPECIES: Aenarete roigi Engel & Gonzalez , new species.

DIAGNOSIS: The new genus is similar to the Chilean genus Spinolapis and the Argentine Patagoniapis Engel (vide Appendix, infra) in that all have a deep metallic blue or green color to the body, particularly in the Argentine Aenarete and Patagoniapis . Unlike Spinolapis , the later two genera have a finely granular and mate sculpturing to the basal area of the propodeum, while it is smooth and shining in the former genus, and pectinate inner metatibial spurs in females (ciliate in Spinolapis ). In addition, Spinolapis and Patagoniapis have the pretarsal claws either simple (former) or with the inner ramus reduced to a minute tooth (later), while in Aenaerete the pretarsal claws are toothed, with the inner ramus normal. Additionally, Spinolapis and Patagoniapis have the marginal line of the propodeum simple or narrowly and faintly areolate, while in Aenarete the marginal line is broader and strongly areolate. The legs of Patagoniapis are reddish orange and the lateral margins of the pygidial plate are straight, while in Aenarete the legs are a dark reddish brown and the lateral margins of the pygidial plate are weakly concave. Lastly, Spinolapis has abundant, long, shaggy, white setae on the mesoscutum and often the metasomal terga, although not arranged into setal hands, while such white setae are lacking in the Argentine genera.

DESCRIPTION: Moderate-sized bees, approximately 8 mm in length; integument largely dark metallic blue, tegula and wing veins orange, legs dark brown or reddish brown, lighter on tarsi, integument with abundant shallow punctation; pubescence typically moderate length, minutely plumose, white, and not obscuring integument, although more tomentose on pronotal lobe and obscuring integument and more yellowish to fuscous on clypeal apical margin and more distal leg podites, metasomal terga I– IV with thin, fine, apical vibrissae of white setae, prepygidial and pygidial fimbriae dark fuscous to black.

Face weakly convex, supraclypeal area not more protuberant than clypeus; inner orbits of compound eyes roughly parallel; malar space linear; facial fovea absent; vertex convex, above upper ocular tangent in facial view; median ocellus just below upper tangent of compound eyes and above midpoint between antennal toruli and posterior margin of vertex, lateral ocelli at upper tangent; preoccipital ridge rounded; mandible of female with preapical tooth on upper margin; labrum much broader than long, apical margin convex.

Pronotum dorsolaterally rounded, without carina or lamella; omaular carina absent; axillae simple. Basal area of propodeum subhorizontal, sloping, rounding onto posterior vertical surface, without posterior carina separating surfaces, sloping subhorizontal zone shorter than metanotum, mate, finely granulose-coriaceous, with some fine transverse ridges at extreme base, without deep areolae; marginal line broadly and strongly areolate; lateral surface of propodeum with abundant, long scopal setae.

Probasitarsus of female without comb on outer edge; metafemoral scopa of female composed of long arched setae with short branches, but such setae not wrapping ventrally, leaving ventral surface glabrous and not enclosed (this kind of metafemoral scopa typical for subtribe Spinolapina ); metatibia with setae of outer surface long, with numerous branches in apical two-thirds of rachis, setae of inner surface long, largely simple; metabasitibial plate of female ovoid, covered with dense appressed setae, margins weakly well-delimited; inner metatibial spur of female coarsely pectinate, with nine branches; pretarsal claws toothed, inner ramus not vestigial.

Forewing with 1M (basal vein) confluent with 1cu-a; pterostigma not parallel sided, widest at midlength, r-rs arising near midlength, margin within marginal cell gently convex; apex of marginal cell obliquely truncate and appendiculate; two submarginal cells (1rs-m absent); both 1m-cu and 2m-cu meeting second submarginal cell. Hind wing with 10–11 distal hamuli; jugal lobe exceeding level of cu-a.

Metasoma without basal or broad apical setal bands, apical margins of terga I– IV thin, fine, apical vibrissae; prepygidial fimbria of female not as dense as pygidial fimbria; pygidial plate of female with surface comparatively flat, margins not elevated, lateral margins faintly concave medially, apex acutely rounded; metasomal sterna densely, but not contiguously punctate in apical halves to two thirds, proximally imbricate and impunctate, sterna I–II with abundant fields of decumbent, apically directed, translucent yellow setae, such setae largely simple; sterna III – V with such setae in apical halves to thirds and progressively with more plumose setae encroaching from laterally, such setae with short branches directly apically, setae also being progressively less translucent and lightly fuscous.

ETYMOLOGY: The new genus-group name is taken from Ancient Greek mythology where Aenarete (Αἰναρέτη) was the mother of Sisyphus, the later of whom was cursed to spend eternity rolling a boulder up hill, much like the process of practicing systematics. The gender of the name is feminine.