Leurotrigona Moure, 1950

Pedro, Silvia R. M. & Camargo, João M. F., 2009, Neotropical Meliponini: the genus Leurotrigona Moure — two new species (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Apinae), Zootaxa 1983, pp. 23-44 : 25

Leurotrigona Moure, 1950

Hypotrigona (Leurotrigona) Moure, 1950b: 244, 1951: 34 .

Type species: Trigona muelleri Friese, 1900 (by original designation).

Melipona ; Bc group, Ducke 1916: 32, 1945: 27 (partim).

Trigona (Hypotrigona) ; Schwarz 1938: 502 (partim), 1940: 10 (partim), 1948: 169 (partim). Trigona (Trigonisca) ; Wille & Chandler 1964: 192 (partim).

Leurotrigona ; Moure 1971: 47 (by inference); Camargo & Moure 1988: 293–295 (by inference). Trigonisca ; Michener 1990: 131 (partim), 2000: 804 (partim), 2007: 829 (partim).

The diagnosis of the genus Leurotrigona was based on Moure (1950b, 1951), modified by the addition of characters common to all species, applicable particularly to the workers. The format follows Camargo and Pedro (2005), and Camargo and Roubik (2005). Distinctive or autapomorphic characters are indicated in boldface letters.

a―Body length between 1.7 and 3.0 mm; head width between 0.8 and 1.2 mm. b―Integument very smooth and shiny, devoid of sculpturing except by the piligerous punctures. c―Body black except antennal scape, labrum, mandible and upper part of tegula ferruginous to yellowish. Wing membrane hyaline, iridescent, Costal and Radial veins and pterostigma honey-ferruginous, other veins uncolored. d―Yellow markings absent on head and thorax, but scutellum of some specimens with two stripes, one on each side of posterior margin, and two spots in anterior margin light brownish, clypeus (except the blackish contour), supraclypeal area and malar space dark brownish. e ―Vestiture fine, sparse, whitish to pale yellowish, predominantly simple and short, more abundant and longer ventrally; short plumose hairs only on lateral margins of mesoscutum and pronotal lobes, around propodeal spiracles and hind distal corner of tibia III; hairs of scape shorter than its diameter; sides of mesepisternum with sparse, appressed micropilosity; metapostnotum glabrous, sides of propodeum with some simple hairs besides plumose hairs around spiracles. f ―Head a little wider than longer (1.1–1.2x) and wider than thorax; maximum interorbital distance subequal to or longer than eye length; inner eye orbits slightly sinuous and convergent or parallel below; upper tangent of antennal alveolus below middle of face; vertex rounded; malar space length variable, equal or 2x diameter of fl.3; preoccipital ridge rounded, uncarinate; gena, in side view, little wider than eye; external orbit not delimited by carina. g ―Clypeus length variable, 1/3 to 1/ 2x its maximum width, and 1/5 to 1/ 4x clypeocellar distance; epistomal suture, on sides, slightly sinuous and divergent to apex, between subantennal sutures slightly bent down; subantennal sutures reduced. h ―Labrum simple, convex. i ―Mandible with two teeth on inner third of apical bor- der. j ―Antennal scape nearly cylindrical, 4.8–6.0x as long as its diameter and 0.6–0.7x the alveolocellar distance; pedicel rounded, little longer than wide and little longer than fl.1; fl.1 trapezoid, wider on apex than on base, nearly as long as following flagellomeres, those cylindrical and shorter than wide, last flagellomere 2x longer than wide. k ―Pronotum short, 1/ 2x scutellum length, its anterior border turned up, slightly recurved, without transversal sulcus. l ―Mesoscutum wider than long; scutellum short, 2x wider than long, flattened, inclined to apex, not projected over metanotum; posterior margin semicircular; without basal fovea. Thorax + propodeum (= mesosoma) lengthened backwards, 1.2–1.6x longer than high. m ―Forewing shorter than body length and 2.6–3.3x longer than tibia III; pterostigma large, 1.7x longer than diameter of fl.3 and 3x its own length; R1 1/2–2/ 3x length of pterostigma; marginal cell 3.2–3.8x longer than wide, largely open apically, Rs weakly marked on its distal 2/5; bifurcation between M and M+Cu coincident with cu-anal, Cu dislocated upward and weakly marked; submarginal angle between Rs and Rs+M obtuse, about 120°, equal to angle between M and Rs+M; M vein nearly 3/ 4x 1st abscissa of Cu, the last one transparent; submarginal cells weakly marked, only radial and cubital cells closed; only Radial and Anal veins distinct in hindwing, jugal lobe little longer than 1/ 2x anal lobe; hamuli, 5. n ―Tibia III subtriangular, 2.5–2.7x longer than wide, gradually expanded to apex; postero-distal corner right or acute; distal edge sinuous; corbicular setae simple; external surface slightly bulging on basal 2/3 and concave on apical third, this constituting the corbicula proper; inner surface with keirotrichiate area slightly elevated; the narrow posterior rim glabrous, not depressed, its width about 1/ 4x tibia width; tibial comb and penicillum normal, setae of penicillum practically straight. o ―Basitarsus III narrow, ca. 1/ 2x tibia III width and 1/ 2x its own length, subrectangular, anterior margin practically straight and posterior margin slightly concave-convex; postero-distal corner rounded and slightly projecting; inner surface without basal sericeous area, setose covering arranged in 6–7 transversal rows of regular setae, increasing in size towards apex. p― Metapostnotum + propodeum as long as or longer than scutellum, on side view aligned with mesoscutum; posterior surface vertical, equal to or little shorter than basal surface (see figure 3 in Moure et al. 1988). q ―Abdomen short and wide, approximately ogival. r ―Labium short, ca. 1.2x head length; galea ca. 1/ 2x length of tibia III. s ―Nest in small natural or artificial cavities (Moure et al. 1988; Rasmussen 2003).