Andrena (Troandrena) namaka, WOOD, 2024

WOOD, T. J., 2024, Further revisions to the Palaearctic Andrena fauna (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zootaxa 5483 (1), pp. 1-150 : 120-124

Andrena (Troandrena) namaka spec. nov.

Figures 75A–H ; 76A–C; E–G .

HOLOTYPE: PAKISTAN: West Pakistan , Salt Range, Kanatti-Kak [inferred Kenhatti, 32.6826 oN, 72.2515 oE], 10.ii.1956, ♀, leg. Ch. Lindemann, ex. Statsslg. München, OÖLM.

PARATYPE: West Pakistan, Salt Range , Kanatti-Kak [Kenhatti], 14.ii.1956, 1♂, leg. Ch. Lindemann, ex. Statsslg. München, OÖLM .

Description: Female: Body length: 8 mm ( Figure 75A ). Head: Dark, 1.2 times wider than long ( Figure 75B ). Clypeus domed, irregularly punctate, punctures in lateral ⅓ separated by 0.5 puncture diameters, medially with impunctate longitudinal mid-line, puncture adjacent to mid-line separated by 0.5–2 puncture diameters; underlying surface smooth and shining. Process of labrum broadly trapezoidal, 2 times wider than long, anterior margin deeply emarginate ( Figure 75C ). Galea with anterior surface smooth and shining ( Figure 75D ). Gena subequal to width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance 1.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus ( Figure 75E ). Foveae dorsally occupying ⅔ of space between compound eye and lateral ocellus, narrowing slightly ventrally at level of antennal insertions; foveae filled with light brownish hairs. Face, gena, and scape with short white hairs, becoming intermixed with dark brown hairs on vertex, no facial hairs equalling length of scape. Antennae basally dark, A4–12 ventrally with brown scales; A3 exceeding A4, shorter than A4+5.

Mesosoma: Scutum and scutellum deeply and strongly punctate, punctures separated by <0.5–1 puncture diameter, underlying surface smooth and shining ( Figure 75F ). Pronotum with weak humeral angle, surface with weak longitudinal striations. Mesepisternum smooth and shining, deeply and densely punctate, punctures separated by 1 puncture diameter. Dorsolateral parts of propodeum finely microreticulate, sculpture overlain by network of weakly raised rugosity. Propodeal triangle laterally defined by weak carinae, internal surface predominantly covered with network of more strongly raised rugae with exception of apical ¼ which lacks rugae, propodeal triangle thus defined by change in surface sculpture ( Figure 75G ). Mesepisternum with moderately long finely plumose white hairs, hairs on scutum and scutellum shorter, light brown, slightly more strongly plumose, but not sub-squamous. Propodeal corbicula incomplete, dorsal fringe composed of white plumose hairs, internal surface with scattered white hairs. Legs dark brown, pubescence whitish. Flocculus moderately developed, composed of white plumose hairs; femoral and tibial scopae composed of white simple hairs. Hind tarsal claws with short inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma and venation orange, nervulus antefurcal.

Metasoma: Discs of T1–2 orange-red, discs of T3–5 black, marginal area of all terga lightened hyaline-yellow to dark brown ( Figure 75H ). T2 laterally with weak indication of dark brown oval marks. Tergal discs and margins strongly and densely punctate, punctures separated by 0.5 puncture diameters, underlying surface shagreened, weakly shining. Tergal discs with scattered extremely short sparse golden hairs, T2–4 apically with fine white hairbands, broadly interrupted on T2, more or less complete on T3, complete on T4, hairbands obscuring underlying surface. Apical fringe of T5 medially dark brown, laterally with scattered long white hairs, hairs flanking pygidial plate dark brown. Pygidial plate rounded triangular, medial triangular area elevated, weakly punctate basally, surface dull.

Male: Body length: 6.5 mm ( Figure 76A ). Head: Dark, 1.3 times wider than long ( Figure 76C ). Clypeus weakly domed, densely punctate, punctures separated by ≤0.5 puncture diameters, interspaces shining. Process of labrum narrow, quadrate, apical margin weakly emarginate. Gena broad, 1.5 times broader than width of compound eye, surface smooth and shining, punctate, punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters, posterior margin rounded; ocelloccipital distance 1.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus. Face with intermixed black and white hairs, white hairs more or less restricted to scape and antennal insertions; gena with white hairs ventrally, hairs becoming black dorsally, vertex with intermixed black and white hairs; longest facial hairs exceeding length of scape. Antennae dark, A4–13 ventrally lightened by brown scales; A3 short, slightly under ½ length of A4, A4–13 rectangular, clearly longer than wide.

Mesosoma: Scutum and scutellum deeply and irregularly punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–3 puncture diameters, underlying surface smooth and shining ( Figure 76B ). Pronotum with strong humeral angle. Mesepisternum with granular shagreen, weakly shining, irregularly punctate, punctures with unevenly raised rims, separated by 1–2 puncture diameters. Dorsolateral parts of propodeum microreticulate, sculpture overlain by network of weakly raised rugosity. Propodeal triangle laterally defined by weak carinae, internal surface entirely covered with network of more strongly raised rugae, propodeal triangle thus defined by change in surface sculpture ( Figure 76E ). Mesepisternum, scutum, and scutellum with intermixed long finely plumose black and white hairs, propodeum with white hairs only. Legs dark brown to dark orange, pubescence whitish. Hind tarsal claws with inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma and venation orange, nervulus antefurcal.

Metasoma: Terga variably coloured, T2 lightened orange-red, orange-red colouration spreading weakly to discs of T1 and T3, otherwise discs becoming brown, T4–5 progressively becoming darker, apex of T5 almost black ( Figure 76F ). Terga punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–1 puncture diameters, underlying surface weakly shagreened, more or less shining. Tergal discs with scattered extremely short sparse whitish hairs, T2–5 apically with fine white hairbands, broadly interrupted on T2, more or less complete on T3, complete on T4–5, hairbands partially obscuring underlying surface. T6–7 with long dark brown hairs overlying pygidial plate of T7. S8 columnar, ventral surface with lateral fan of brown hairs. Genital capsule slightly oval-elongate, gonocoxae apically produced into weak rounded points, gonostyli slightly broadened apically, spatulate, inner margin with small but distinctly raised bump medially ( Figure 76G ). Penis valves basally slightly broadened, occupying ½ space between gonostyli, slightly narrowing medially and apically.

Diagnosis. Andrena namaka can be placed into the subgenus Troandrena , though placement is not immediately straightforward as A. namaka differs from some of the classical Troandrena concepts (and the concept of Warncke is subject to change, as A. chalcogastra Brullé, 1839 will be removed from this subgenus based on genetic analysis; S. Bossert, T.J. Wood, G. Pisanty, unpublished data). The subgenus has been previously recognised due to the strongly flattened clypeus with the surface shining and with a slightly raised impunctate mid-line, with relatively narrow facial foveae, and with the process of the labrum strongly emarginate medially. Accepting the removal of A. chalcogastra , subgenus Troandrena was thought to include two species ( A. saettana Warncke, 1975 and A. troodica Warncke, 1975 ) between eastern Greece and western Pakistan (see comments in Wood 2024), and a third species from central Iran ( A. monfaredi Wood, 2023 ) was recently described that displays a clypeus which is not completely flattened but instead is slightly more domed. Andrena namaka displays this partially flattened and shining clypeus with an impunctate mid-line ( Figure 75B ), and is therefore closer to A. monfaredi , as well as showing a strongly emarginate process of the labrum. Placement in the Troandrena can also be informed by the male morphology, specifically the gena that is broader than the compound eye, the pronotum with a very strong humeral angle, though the genital capsule is not typical for the two species for which Troandrena males are known.

In the female sex, A. namaka is specifically close to A. monfaredi due to the partially red-marked terga, the strongly and densely punctate terga with punctures separated by 0.5 puncture diameters ( Figure 75H ), the short clypeus (not projecting ventrally beyond the lower margin of the malar areas), the relatively domed clypeus with a clear impunctate mid-line ( Figure 75B ), the scutum smooth and shining, with large and dense punctures ( Figure 75F ), and by the relatively small body size (<10 mm in length). Andrena namaka can be separated from A. monfaredi due to its smaller body size of 8 mm (9–9.5 mm in A. monfaredi ), the slightly narrower facial foveae, occupying ⅔ of the space between the compound eye and a lateral ocellus ( Figure 75E ), upper margin of foveae separated from a lateral ocellus by a distance greater than its diameter (in A. monfaredi with the facial foveae occupying ¾ of the space between the compound eye and a lateral ocellus, upper margin of foveae separated from a lateral ocellus by a distance less than its diameter), clypeus adjacent to impunctate mid-line less densely punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–2 puncture diameters (in A. monfaredi with the clypeus densely punctate adjacent to the impunctate mid-line, punctures separated by 0.5 puncture diameters), the outer surface of the galea smooth and shining ( Figure 75D ; in A. monfaredi with the surface of the galea showing clear fine microsculpture), terga with fine apical hairbands, interrupted on T2–3, complete only on T4 ( Figure 75H ; in A. monfaredi with complete apical hairbands on T2–4), and terminal fringe medially dark brown (in A. monfaredi terminal fringe medially golden-whitish).

In the male sex, the male of A. monfaredi is unknown. Separation from A. saettana (which also displays red-marked terga, and which is present in western Pakistan) can be made by the genital capsule which in A. namaka is simple and resembles that of a member of the Euandrena with the gonocoxae apically produced into weakly rounded points ( Figure 76G ; in A. saettana the gonocoxae have their inner margins forming obtuse angles, not produced into rounded points, Figure 76H ), by the clypeus which is extremely short, ventrally not projecting beyond the lower margin of the malar areas, covered in a mixture of black and grey hairs ( Figure 76C ; in A. saettana the clypeus is long, ventrally clearly projecting beyond the lower margin of the malar areas, surface covered with pale hairs, Figure 76D ), and finally A. namaka is also small (6.5 mm in length), whereas A. saettana males typically exceed 8 mm in length.

Etymology. From the Urdu noun namak which means salt or rock salt, in reference to the Salt Range in northern Punjab which is naturally known for its extensive salt deposits. It is a noun in apposition.

Distribution. Central Pakistan (northern Punjab province).

Figures

FIGURE 75. Andrena (Troandrena) namaka spec. nov. female. A. Habitus, lateral view; B. Face, frontal view; C. Process of labrum, ventral view; D. Galea, lateral view; E. Head, dorsal view; F. Scutum, dorsal view; G. Propodeum, dorsal view; H. Terga, dorsal view.

FIGURE 76. Andrena (Troandrena) namaka spec. nov. male. A. Habitus, lateral view; B. Scutum, dorsal view; C. Face, frontal view; E. Propodeum, dorsal view; F. Terga, dorsal view; G. Genital capsule, dorsal view; Andrena (Troandrena) saettana Warncke, 1975 male. D. Face, frontal view; H. Genital capsule, dorsal view.