Habropoda bucconis ( Friese, 1911 )

Dubitzky, Andreas, 2007, Revision of the Habropoda and Tetralonioidella species of Taiwan with comments on their host-parasitoid relationships (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apidae), Zootaxa 1483 (1), pp. 41-68 : 44-46

Habropoda bucconis ( Friese, 1911)

( Figs 2A, B , 4A, B 5B)

Anthophora bucconis Friese, 1911: 127 . Type locality: Tainan ( Formosa) . Types ♂, ♀ SMF (examined)

Habropoda bucconis (Friese) : Lieftinck, 1974: 201–202, designation of ♂ lectotype ( ZMHB)

Female. BL: 14.7 mm. FWL: 10.2 mm.

Structure. Head triangular, about 1.4 times broader than long. Proboscis short to medium long in repose, extending to the forecoxa. Galea tesselate, weakly shiny (basally) to dull (apically), with large, shallow punctation. Mandible bidentate. Labrum shiny, about 1.4 times broader than long, with irregular strong wrinkles on disc between prominent lateral humps; area before ventral margin with four tooth-like projections in the middle. Clypeus shiny, with very dense punctation (<<1), disc flattened in profile. SCA protuberant, with fine dense punctation and impunctate median line becoming distinctly broader from hind to ventral margin. All other parts of head strongly tesselate with inconspicuous tiny punctation. Scape slightly shorter than AS 3, with inconspicuous, sparse punctation ventrally. AS 3 nearly as long as following three AS together, about 3 times as long as broad apically. Mesoscutum weakly shiny, with dense (=1) punctation. Scutellum tesselate, dull with dense small punctation. Propodeum weakly tesselate, shiny with inconspicuous, sparse punctation laterally. Mesepisternum weakly shiny, tesselate, with dense shallow punctation. T weakly shiny tesselate, with dense inconspicuous punctation on disc and nearly impunctate marginal zone. Pygidial plate tesselate, dull. S tesselate, shiny to weakly dull with large dense (=1) punctation.

Integument colour. Body black to dark brown. Glossa and galea transparent brown. Mandible yellow transparent basally, blackish brown apically. All parts of head black to blackish brown except triangular ivory maculation along the middle of ventral margin of clypeus. Antenna blackish brown except AS 4– AS 12 reddish brown beneath. Thorax blackish brown. Legs brown to yellowish brown. Veins of wings blackish brown, tegula bright yellowish brown, transparent. T blackish brown except marginal zone transparent amber. Pygidial plate black. S reddish brown with broad blackish brown maculations in the middle of disc of S2–S4.

Pubescence. Ventral margin of mandible with long white hairs. Labrum and clypeus with medium long, yellowish grey pubescence except long blackish brown hairs along lateral margins of clypeus. POA, SCA and most of frons with dense, short, whitish grey pubescence, intermixed with long blackish brown hairs. Area around ocelli and vertex with long yellowish grey to dark brown hairs. GA with long silvery white hairs. Dorsal and dorso-lateral parts of thorax with dense, long, yellowish grey hairs, intermixed with long dark brown hairs. Ventral and ventro-lateral parts of thorax with bright yellowish grey to silvery white long hairs. Ventral surface of forefemur with long greyish white to brownish grey hairs. Foretibia with brownish grey hairs. Foretarsus with dense brush of simple, yellowish brown hairs ventrally. Pubescence of middle leg greyish brown except dense brush of reddish brown hairs ventrally on tarsus. Tibial scopa of hind leg with yellowish brown to brown long, mostly branched hairs. Hind basitarsus with long, dark brown pubescence. T1–T4 with long, yellowish grey, apically often dark brown, hairs. Marginal zone of T1–T4 with dense, short, yellowish white hairs, forming inconspicuous apical hair bands among long pubescence. Prepygidial fimbria yellowish grey to yellowish brown. Pygidial fimbria dark brown. S2–S4 with long yellowish to greyish white hairs apically and short, bright reddish brown hairs medially. S5 with dense brush of reddish brown hairs on disc and long dark brown hairs apically.

Male. BL 11.1–13.2 mm (12.1 mm). FWL: 8.8–9.9 mm (9.3 mm).

General appearance of structures, integument colour and pubescence similar to female except as follows: AS 3 about as long as following two AS together ( Figs 2A, B ); colouration of head as in Fig. 2A ; mandible ivory except for brown mark apically; clypeus with T-shaped, ivory maculation along median line ( Fig. 2A ); SCA and ventral surface of scape ivory; long pubescence of T3–T5 with distinctly fewer dark brown hairs than on T1 and T2; apical hair bands of short, yellowish white hairs on T1–T5 on entire marginal zone (on T4 and T5 nearly completely covering each T), therefore much more broad and distinctive than in female; apical part of S7 (Fig. 4A) broad, triangular, with distinct incision apically, the latter bearing a distinct hair fringe medially; S7 with strong short hairs along apical margin ventrally; apical margin of S 8 nearly oval, except for flat emargination medially (Fig. 4B).

Male genitalia ( Fig. 5B ). DGS short, about as long as VGS, slightly spatulate apically. Apical margin of DGS with long hairs. VGS ear-shaped, about 1.8 times longer than broad, with regularly spaced microtrichia on ventral surface.

Diagnosis. H. bucconis is very similar to H. imitatrix Lieftinck, 1974 , which occurs in SE China. The following observations are based on males only, as no female specimens of H. imitatrix were available. Almost no significant differences were found between H. bucconis and H. imitatrix in structural characters. The differences are predominantly in colouration of integument and pubescence (clypeal spot of H. imitatrix more slender, I-shaped, pubescence of hind basitarsus blackish brown, darker than in H. bucconis ). Both characters are variable within each species. Weak structural differences are only found in AS 3, which is slightly shorter than the scape in H. imitatrix and slightly longer than the scape in H. bucconis , the apical incision in S7 which is more concave in H. bucconis than in H. imitatrix and the lateral parts of the triangular apical part of S7 being more acutely angled in H. imitatrix (for shape of male S7 of H. imitatrix see Lieftinck, 1974).

Distribution. Records of H. bucconis are based mostly on old collection data from the low hill countryside and areas near the coast line of Taiwan, e.g. Fengshan, Taitung, Puli, Tainan, Taipei, Tailin and Kaohsiung ( Lieftinck, 1974). Recently this species was recorded from Kukung (Yunlin Hsien) and from the surroundings of the TESRI-Station Tengchi (Kaohsiung Hsien). For seasonal and altitudinal distribution of this species, see Fig. 9 .

Biology. All male specimens collected by the author in Tengchi were found exclusively at flowers of Teucrium viscidum Bl. (Lamiaceae) .

Comments. Based on the weak distinctive features listed above for H. bucconis and H. imitatrix , it is conceivable that H. imitatrix is a continental subspecies of H. bucconis . However, no females of H. imitatrix were available for examination in the present study, thus the two taxa must be regarded as separate species by the differences listed above for the males and those for the females given by Lieftinck (1974).

Material examined. Paralectotypes, 1 ♂, 1 ♀, TAIWAN: Tainan, collection A. Weis ( SMF) . Other material. 6 ♂♂, TAIWAN : 1 ♂, Yunlin, Kukung Shih-pi , 29.X.1992, W. T . Yang , Sweeping Net, NMNS ENT 1426- 777 ( NMNS) ; 1 ♂, Tengchi (1600m), N 23°04' / E 120°46', 17.IX.2002, leg. Dubitzky & Szczepanek ( CDS) ; 4 ♂♂, Tengchi (1600 m), N 23°05' / E 120°47', 19.IX.2002, leg. Dubitzky & Szczepanek ( CDS, NCHUT) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Colour pattern of head (A, C, E, G) and basal AS (B, D, F, H) of male Habropoda of Taiwan. A, B, H. bucconis; C, D, H. tainanicola tainanicola; E, F, H. christineae; G, H, H. sinensis taiwana. Dotted lines indicate yellow to ivory areas (except on clypeus of H. tainanicola (C), dark maculations). Scale bars, 1 mm.

FIGURE 5. Genitalia of male Habropoda (left dorsal, right ventral view). A, H. tainanicola tainanicola; B, H. bucconis; C, H. christineae; D, H. sinensis taiwana. Scale bars, 500 µm.

FIGURE 9. Seasonal-altitudinal distribution pattern of Habropoda on Taiwan.