Andrena (Euandrena) ridicula, WOOD, 2024

WOOD, T. J., 2024, Further revisions to the Palaearctic Andrena fauna (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zootaxa 5483 (1), pp. 1-150 : 97-101

Andrena (Euandrena) ridicula spec. nov.

Figures 62A–C; E–F ; 63A–C; E; G .

HOLOTYPE: TURKEY: Hakkâri, Suvari Halil-Pass [37.4994 oN, 43.3381 oE], 2600 m, 15.vi.1981, ♀, leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM.

PARATYPES: TURKEY: Hakkâri, Suvari Halil-Pass , 14–15.vi.1981, 2600 m, 14–15.vi.1981, 1♂, 10♀, leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM/ TJWC ; Hakkâri, Suvari Halil-Pass , 2500 m, 2.vi.1980, 1♀, leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM ; Hakkâri, Gevria Pass / Mt. Sat , 2800 m, 22.v.1989, 1♀, leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM; Tanin-Tanin-Pass, 23–2800 m, 2–3.vi.1980, 3♀, leg. K. Warncke & M. Schwarz, OÖLM .

Description: Female: Body length: 8–9 mm ( Figure 62A ). Head: Dark, 1.05 times longer than wide ( Figure 62B ). Mouthparts elongate, in profile view mouthparts extending beyond mandibles to distance roughly 2/3rds length of head ( Figure 62A ). Clypeus weakly but evenly domed, punctate, laterally punctures separated by 0.5 puncture diameters, medially becoming sparser and more irregular, here separated by 0.5–2 puncture diameters, with unclear and poorly defined longitudinal impunctate mid-line; underlying surface weakly shagreened basally, more or less smooth and shining over majority of area ( Figure 62C ). Process of labrum short, rounded rectangular, 3–4 times wider than long, surface polishing and shining. Gena slightly exceeding width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance slightly exceeding diameter of lateral ocellus. Foveae dorsally narrow, occupying ⅓ of space between compound eye and lateral ocellus, narrower than width of flagellum, narrowing further ventrally at level of antennal insertions; foveae filled with brown hairs. Face medially, gena, vertex, and scape covered with long white hairs, none equalling length of scape; face with long black hairs along inner margins of compound eyes, extending sparsely onto frons, vertex, and dorsolateral parts of gena, intermixing with white hairs. Antennae dark basally, A5–12 ventrally slightly lightened by presence of grey scales; A3 exceeding A4+5, shorter than A4+5+6.

Mesosoma: Scutum and scutellum finely shagreened, weakly shining over majority of area, sculpture becoming weaker medially, here more strongly shining; surface irregularly punctate, punctures separated by <0.5–2 puncture diameters ( Figure 62E ). Pronotum rounded.Mesepisternum with fine granular shagreen, weakly shining. Dorsolateral parts of propodeum with fine granular shagreen, shagreen overlain with sparse network of raised rugosity forming appearance of large shallow punctures with raised rims. Propodeal triangle narrow, internal surface with granular microreticulation, propodeal triangle thus defined by change in surface sculpture; triangle basally with short raised rugae. Mesepisternum with long white plumose hairs, longest not equalling length of scape; scutum and scutellum with shorter plumose hairs, hairs predominantly white but black hairs frequently intermixed medially. Propodeal corbicula incomplete, dorsal fringe composed of white plumose hairs, internal surface with mixture of numerous plumose and non-plumose hairs. Legs dark, pubescence whitish to light brownish. Flocculus complete, composed of sparse white plumose hairs; femoral and tibial scopae composed of white simple hairs, tibial scopae dorsally with dark brown hairs adjacent to basitibial plate. Hind tarsal claws with short inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma and venation brown-orange, nervulus interstitial.

Metasoma: Terga dark, apical rims narrowly and obscurely lightened hyaline-brown, tergal discs punctate, punctures deep, separated by 1–3 puncture diameters; tergal margins impunctate ( Figure 62F ). Tergal discs and margins finely microreticulate, moderately shining. Margins of T2–3 weakly impressed, margin of T4 moderately impressed. Tergal discs with short white hairs, becoming longer laterally; hairs forming obscure and sparse apical hairbands at base of margins T2–4, very widely separated on T2–3, complete on T4. Apical fringe of T5 and hairs flanking pygidial plate dark brown. Pygidial plate rounded triangular, margins impunctate, medially with irregularlysized punctures.

Male: Body length: 7–8 mm ( Figure 63A ). Head: Dark, 1.05 times wider than long ( Figure 63C ). Clypeus weakly domed and broadly flat medially, surface densely punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–1 puncture diameters; underlying surface dull basally and laterally, smooth and shining medially. Process of labrum rounded trapezoidal, 2 times wider than long, surface smooth and shining. Gena slightly exceeding width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance 1.5 times diameter of lateral ocellus. Face medially, gena, vertex, and scape covered with long white hairs, longest slightly exceeding length of scape; face with long black hairs along inner margins of compound eyes, extending sparsely onto frons, vertex, and dorsolateral parts of gena, intermixing with white hairs. Antennae dark basally, A5–13 ventrally slightly lightened by presence of grey scales; A3 1.5 times longer than A4, A4 only slightly longer than wide, A5–13 rectangular, clearly longer than wide ( Figure 63E ).

Mesosoma: Scutum and scutellum with regular granular shagreen, weakly shining, medially with sculpture becoming weaker, here more strongly shining; surface irregularly punctuate, punctures separated by 0.5–3 puncture diameters. Pronotum rounded. Mesepisternum and propodeum structurally as in female. Mesosoma uniformly with long white hairs, longest exceeding length of scape. Legs dark, pubescence whitish. Hind tarsal claws with inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma and venation light orange, nervulus interstitial.

Metasoma: Terga structurally as in female, pubescence more scattered, not forming regular apical hairbands at base of tergal margins ( Figure 63B ). S8 narrow, columnar, ventral surface covered with spreading white hairs. Genital capsule simple, gonocoxae apically produced into slight rounded bumps, gonostyli narrow, slightly broadened apically, spatulate, inner margins slightly raised ( Figure 63G ). Penis valves narrow, more or less parallel-sided, occupying ¼ of space between gonostyli, slightly constricted medially.

Diagnosis. Andrena ridicula can be placed in the subgenus Euandrena due to the narrow facial foveae, occupying slightly less than one third of the space between the compound eye and a lateral ocellus, the foveae narrowing further ventrally, pronotum without humeral angle, A3 long (clearly exceeding A4+5), and the simple hairs of the tibial scopae (hairs not plumose). Within the Euandrena , A. ridicula is immediately recognisable in the female sex due to its clearly elongate head and clypeus ( Figures 62B–C ), with the head 1.05 times longer than wide which is unusual in Andrena generally, which almost always have the head wider than long. It is comparable only to A. canuta Warncke, 1975 ( Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, * Iran), but can easily be separated because the clypeus is evenly domed and more or less regularly punctate, with a weak median impunctate line, punctures separated by 0.5–2 puncture diameters medially, whereas in A. canuta , the clypeus has a long and deep longitudinal impression medially, this impression with the punctures much sparser, here separated by 2–3 puncture diameters compared to 0.5–2 puncture diameters laterally. The head of A. canuta is also slightly shorter, 1.1 times wider than long ( Figure 62D ).

Separation in the male sex is more challenging, as is almost always the case in the subgenus Euandrena unless the genital capsule or hidden sterna are strongly distinctive. Due to the relatively elongate head ( Figure 63C ; only 1.05 times wider than long), A. ridicula males can again be compared to males of A. canuta ( Figure 63D ; head 1.15 times wider than long), and a combination of characters should be used to allow separation. In addition to the slightly more elongate head, A. ridicula has A3 comparatively longer, 1.5 times longer than A4 and segments A5–11 are only slightly longer than wide ( Figure 63E ; in A. canuta with A3 only slightly longer than A4, and A5–11 clearly longer than wide, Figure 63F ), the face has black hairs limited to the inner margins of the compound eyes with white hairs on the clypeus ( Figure 63C ; in A. canuta with more abundant black hairs on the face, these extending across the lower paraocular areas and clypeus, Figure 63D ), the tergal sculpture and punctation, with the tergal discs shagreened and weakly shining, contrasting the more strongly shining marginal areas, the discs themselves with obscure punctures that partially disappear into the background sculpture (in A. canuta with less contrast between the disc and marginal areas which are equally shagreened and weakly shining, and with the tergal discs more clearly punctate with punctures distinct against the underlying sculpture), and the genital capsule with the penis valves extremely narrow, occupying only a quarter of the space between the gonostyli ( Figure 63G ; in A. canuta with the penis valves comparatively slightly broader, occupying one third of this space, Figure 63H ). See above for diagnosis against A. eosphora .

Remarks. Specimens from the Suvari-Halil pass were collected from Crocus ( Iridaceae ), which may explain its elongate head and somewhat elongate mouthparts in a similar manner to the elongate head and use of Crocus pollen seen in A. allosa Warncke, 1975 ( Praz et al. 2019).

Etymology. Nominative feminine singular form of the Latin adjective ridiculus, meaning ridiculous, in reference to the strongly elongate face of this species, and more broadly to the incredible diversity present in the subgenus Euandrena .

Distribution. South-eastern Turkey (province of Hakkâri).

Other material examined ( Andrena canuta ) ARMENIA: propre [illegible, perhaps Baiuk-Vedi, location obscure], vi.1826, 1♀, leg. A. Schelk, OÖLM ; IRAN: 20 km SE Meymeh / Esfahan, 1850 m, 28.v.1978, 9♂, det. & leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM ; TURKEY: Kars, 10 km SE Igdir, 28.v.1983, 2♂, leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM; Tasburun , Iğdır, 25.v.1971, 1♀, leg. H. Özbek, OÖLM (paratype); Tuzluca / Kars, 14.vi.1973, 1♀, leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM (holotype) .

Figures

FIGURE 62. Andrena (Euandrena) ridicula spec. nov. female. A. Habitus, lateral view; B. Face, frontal view; C. Clypeus detail, frontal view; E. Scutum, dorsal view; F. Terga, dorsal view. Andrena (Euandrena) canuta Warncke, 1975 female. D. Face, frontal view.

FIGURE 63. Andrena (Euandrena) ridicula spec. nov. male. A. Habitus, lateral view; B. Terga, dorsal view; C. Face, frontal view; E. Antennae detail, ventral view; G. Genital capsule, dorsal view. Andrena (Euandrena) canuta Warncke, 1975 male. D. Face, frontal view; F. Antennae detail, ventral view; H. Genital capsule, dorsal view.