Protosmia (Nanosmia) curviseta, Müller, 2022

Müller, Andreas, 2022, New Moroccan bee species of the tribe Osmiini (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae), Zootaxa 5188 (3), pp. 233-263 : 258-260

Protosmia (Nanosmia) curviseta spec. nov.

Holotype. MOROCCO: Guelmim-Oued Noun : 2.75 km SW Ifrane Atlas Saghir, 29°12ʹ09ʹʹN/9°30ʹ19ʹʹW, 740 m, 17.4.2017, ♀ (leg. A. Müller). Deposited in the Entomological Collection of ETH Zurich.

Paratypes. MOROCCO: Drâa-Tafilalet : 10 km E Agdz, 1000 m, 20.4.2008, 2♀ (A. Müller, M. Herrmann, C. Sedivy); Zagora, 600 m, 21.4.2008, 1♀ (leg. F. Amiet); Tizi-n-Tagergoust, 5 km E Tazenakht, 1400 m, 22.4.2008, 2♀ (A. Müller, M. Herrmann); N Tazenakht, 1500 m, 23.4.2008, 1♀ (leg. F. Amiet); Guelmim-Oued Noun: 2.75 km SW Ifrane Atlas Saghir, 29°12ʹ09ʹʹN/9°30ʹ19ʹʹW, 740 m, 17.4.2017, 12♀ (leg. A. Müller). Deposited in the Entomological Collection of ETH Zurich .

Diagnosis. Diagnostic character of the 4–5 mm long female of P. curviseta are the long, apically curved and capitate bristles on the labial palpus ( Fig. 60–61 ). These bristles, which are directed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the labial palpus, cover the apical third of the first segment and almost the entire length of the second segment. The only other Protosmia species with such strongly curved bristles on the labial palpus are P. (Nanosmia) devia Tkalců from Pakistan and India and P. (Nanosmia) hamulifera Griswold from the Arabian peninsula. Apart from its markedly different distribution range, P. curviseta differs from P. devia by its black rather than abricot-coloured mandibles and from P. hamulifera by the relative length of the second segment of the labial palpus, which is about 2.2x as long as the first segment (1.75x as long in P. hamulifera ), and by the density and extent of the specialized labial pilosity, which is rather sparse and covers almost the entire length of the second segment ( Fig. 60–61 ; much denser and lacking on the apical half of the second segment in P. hamulifera ). Weakly curved bristles also occur in P. (Nanosmia) pulex (Benoist) from Israel and Palestine, whose marginal zones of the terga are broadly reddish rather than predominantly dark. The male of P. curviseta is unknown.

Description. FEMALE ( Fig. 60 ): Body length 4–5 mm. Head: Head 0.9–0.95x as long as wide. Distance between lateral ocellus and preoccipital margin 1.05–1.15x as long as ocellar diameter. Maximum width of genal area 0.7–0.75x as long as maximum width of compound eye. Mandible three-toothed and completely black. Punctation of face very dense with usually only linear interspaces; punctures on frons and paraocular area roughly twice as large as those on supraclypeal area and clypeus. Clypeus with narrow marginal zone, which is distinctly finer and more densely punctured than disc; its apical margin medially straight to very weakly emarginate, minutely crenulated and narrowly keeled. Face sparsely beset with rather long and (sub)erect whitish hairs except for clypeus, which is covered with short, sparse and appressed whitish pilosity interspersed with single long hairs. Proboscis of medium length, when folded reaching middle of coxae of fore legs; second segment of labial palpus about 0.8x as long as compound eye and 2.1–2.2x as long as first segment. Apical third of first segment of labial palpus and basal five sixths of second segment covered with about 15–20 long, apically curved and capitate bristles, which are directed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the labial palpus ( Fig. 60–61 ). Antennal segments 1–4(12) predominantly black, 5–11(12) partly brown on anterior side; segment 3 slightly longer than wide and 1.75x as long as segment 4, segments 4–8 shorter than wide, 9–11 as long as wide and segment 12 almost 2x as long as wide. Mesosoma: Parapsidal line linear. Pronotal lobe with inconspicuous transverse carinulae, its anterior margin distinctly keeled. Punctation of scutum dense with interspaces rarely reaching diameter of one puncture, of scutellum and mesepisternum more scattered with interspaces reaching diameter of one to two punctures; interspaces of mesepisternum with micropunctures. Basal area of propodeum polished except for narrow transversal zone at its base, which is distinctly shagreened. Pilosity of mesosoma laterally whitish and dorsally yellowish-white; apical margin of scutellum sparsely beset with very long yellowish hairs. Tegula dark brown to black and rather densely punctured except for central part, which is light brown and sparsely punctured. Stigma and veins of fore wing predominantly dark brown to black. Tibial spur of fore leg apically extended into long tip, which is about 2x as long as basally wide. Tibial spurs of hind leg yellowish and apically curved upwards at angle of about 30; inner spur about 0.5x as long as maximum inner length of tibia of hind leg. Pilosity of inner surface of basitarsus of hind leg yellowish-white. Metasoma: Punctation of tergal discs 1–3(4) laterally dense with interspaces rarely reaching diameter of one puncture and medially slightly more scattered with interspaces reaching diameter of one and a half to two punctures. Punctation of tergal discs (4)5–6 dense with interspaces rarely exceeding diameter of one puncture. Punctation of marginal zones of terga slightly finer than of discs and extended till apical tergal margins. Marginal zones of terga 1–3 narrowly dark reddish- to yellowish-brown and beset with widely interrupted white hair bands. Scopa white.

MALE: Unknown.

Distribution. Southern Morocco from the Drâa-Tafilalet region to the Guelmim-Oued Noun region.

Pollen hosts. Polylectic ( Tab. 1 ); pollen hosts include Antirrhineae (Plantaginaceae) , Boraginaceae and Zygophyllacae. The females of P. curviseta possess long, apically curved and capitate bristles on the labial palpi of the proboscis. Such specialized bristles of spoonlike shape are also found in females of the osmiine bee genus Haetosmia Popov , where they serve to scrape pollen out of the narrow-tubed flowers of Heliotropium (Boraginaceae) (Gottlieb et al. 2014; Müller & Griswold 2017). Given the amazing similarity in shape and location of these bristles between P. curviseta and species of Haetosmia , Heliotropium is most probably a further pollen host of P. curviseta .

Nesting biology. Unknown.

Etymology. The species epithet refers to the apically curved bristles on the labial palpus of the female (curvus = lat. curved, seta = lat. bristle).

Figures

FIGURES 57–66. Osmia (Nasutosmia) longipalpa: 57: Female, 58: Male, 59: Labial palpi of female. Protosmia (Nanosmia) curviseta: 60: Female, 61: Labial palpi of female. Protosmia (Nanosmia) magna: 62: Female, 63: Male, 64: Vertex between compound eye and lateral ocellus of female, 65: Terga 5–6 of male, 66: Sterna 1–6 of male.