Scaptotrigona (Eoscaptotrigona) totobi, Engel, 2022

Engel, Michael S., 2022, Notes on South American stingless bees of the genus Scaptotrigona (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Part III: A revised infrageneric classification and new species, Journal of Melittology 2022 (111), pp. 1-29 : 7-10

Scaptotrigona (Eoscaptotrigona) totobi Engel, new species

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4D4E0571-A552-4261-A680-4A42F1156F42

( Figs. 12–18 )

DIAGNOSIS: This species stands out from others in Eoscaptotrigona owing the presence of minute, erect, black bristles apicolaterally on the dorsal-facing surface of tergum I [absent in S. polysticta Moure and S. luteipennis (Friese) ] and the infumate rather than orange fuscous wings. The new species occurs in Venezuela and Colombia, whereas S. polysticta is known from further south in eastern Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia, while S. luteipennis is found in Central America.

DESCRIPTION: ⚲: Total body length approximately 6.5–7.0 mm, forewing length (to base of humeral sclerite) 6.0– 6.5 mm. Head wider than long, width 2.85–2.94 mm, length 2.21–2.33 mm; compound eye length 1.58–1.70 mm; upper interorbital distance 1.82–1.88 mm, lower interorbital distance 1.76–1.79 mm. Scape length 1.06–1.09 mm, slightly longer than torulocellar distance, torulocellar distance 0.94–1.03 mm. Clypeus approximately 1.59–1.66× as wide as long, length 0.73–0.82 mm, width 1.21–1.30 mm. Malar area long, length 1.85–2× flagellar diameter. Preoccipital carina strong, lamellate dorsally and bordered by deep medial and lateral indentations, carina interrupted laterally by deep concavity, preoccipital lamella extends into concavity at least half length, lower margin of concavity rounded, not projecting upward as distinct lamellate tooth.

Integument generally black to dark brown, with areas of dark brown sometimes nearly black; labiomaxillary complex dark brown; labrum dark brown; mandible dark brown; clypeus dark brown; supraclypeal area dark brown; malar space dark brown to black; face below tangent of antennal toruli dark brown; scape dark brown to black; pedicel and flagellum dark brown; remainder of face black; vertex and posterior of head black; gena dark brown; postgena dark brown; hypostomal borders light brown. Mesosoma black; tegula dark brown; legs dark brown. Wing membranes infumate; veins dark brown to brown. Metasoma dark brown to black.

Integument smooth and shining amid punctures; clypeus with small shallow punctures separated by less than a puncture width, nearly contiguous in most areas; supraclypeal area with similar punctures except separated by up to a puncture width, but typically less; lower face with small shallow punctures contiguous along inner orbit blending to more minute and sparse punctures toward epistomal sulcus and antennal torulus; such punctures becoming minute and separated by a puncture width or less on frons; ocellocular area and upper frons with punctures slightly larger, well defined, and separated by less than a puncture width; punctures of vertex ill-defined and blending to coarsely imbricate integument; posterior of head coarsely imbricate; gena with punctures similar to upper frons; postgena nearly impunctate. Mesoscutum and mesoscutellum with small contiguous punctures, integument between punctures, where evident, smooth; pleura with small contiguous punctures, punctures becoming weaker and more spaced ventrally and posteroventrally; punctures of metepisternum smaller and more distinct than those of mesepisternum; propodeum with small contiguous punctures on lateral surface; basal area of propodeum tessellate. Metasomal terga coarsely imbricate and minutely punctate, except anterior-facing surface of tergum I smooth, pregradular areas and exceptionally narrow apical marginal zones finely imbricate and impunctate; tergum VI imbricate and largely impunctate; sterna finely imbricate.

Fine pubescence generally consisting of sparse, minute, appressed or decumbent white or off-white setae (sometimes tinged slightly yellowish), such minute setae often simple but sometimes plumose, intermixed in places with black setae; minute white setae sparse on lower face, more numerous on frons except upper frons such setae blending to more fuscous setae and erect black, largely simple, setae and bristles; gena with scatered white setae similar to that of face (in resinous specimens these setae appressed and darkened, and therefore difficult to observe); postgena with elongate, erect, black to dark fuscous setae. Pronotal lobe with dense, white, plumose setae; mesoscutum and mesoscutellum with scatered, minute, simple, subappressed to decumbent, fuscous setae; metanotum with abundant, white, plumose setae; mesepisternum with similar setae to that of mesoscutum, such setae blending ventrally to sparse white, plumose setae and longer, more similar white to off white setae; metepisternum with dense, white, plumose setae; propodeum lateral surface with similar setae to that of metepisternum. Legs with largely black setae, except coxae, trochanters, and proximally on femora long, white to fuscous setae. Metasomal terga with minute, appressed to decumbent, simple, fuscous setae (such setae most easily viewed obliquely or in profile), except anterior-facing surface of tergum I glabrous, terga V and VI with white, plumose tomentum, in lateral patches on tergum V and scatered on tergum VI, such tomentum sometimes present as small patches laterally on tergum IV (seemingly rubbed off in other specimens); sterna with elongate, erect, white to off-white simple scopal setae, such setae with wavy apices. Black bristles (thick, typically erect, often simple or with minute pectinate branches apically) in distinct areas of body as follows: Labrum with some erect, simple bristles; upper frons and vertex with black bristles, those of vertex longest, particularly medially posterior to ocelli; black bristles along anterior margin of pronotal lobe; mesoscutum anterior and lateral margins with abundant black bristles and some sparsely scatered on disc; tegula with suberect black bristles anteriorly; mesoscutellum with black bristles abundant, particularly along posterior margin, bristles longest along margin; black bristles scatered over mesepisternum and a distinct line of such bristles along rounded margin with preëpisternum; legs with numerous black bristles, those of distitarsomeres typically fulvous; metatibial and metabasitarsal bristles black. Metasoma terga III–V with abundant, suberect to subdecumbent black bristles, similar bristles longer and more erect on tergum VI; tergum II with such bristles short and present apically; tergum I with such bristles short and present only laterally.

♀: Latet.

♂: Latet.

HOLOTYPE: ⚲, Venezuela: Bolivar, Rancho Las Nieves, 6°20’N, 66°50’W, 500 m, 5–7 February 1990, C.D. Michener ( SEMC).

PARATYPES: 2⚲⚲, Venezuela: Bolivar, Rancho Las Nieves, 6°20’N, 66°50’W, 500 m, 5–7 February 1990, C.D. Michener ( SEMC); 1 ⚲, Colombia: Meta, San Juan de Arama, Reserva La Macarena , 6 December 1986, A. Bonilla ( SEMC) .

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: 5⚲⚲, Venezuela: Barinas, 28 km NW Barinitas , July 18, 1974, O. R . Taylor ( SEMC) .

ETYMOLOGY: The specific epithet is taken from the Yanomami Indian name for the species, totobi .

Figures

Figures 12–14. Worker of Scaptotrigona (Eoscaptotrigona) totobi, new species. 12. Lateral habitus. 13. Dorsal habitus. 14. Facial view.

Figures 15–18. Worker of Scaptotrigona (Eoscaptotrigona) totobi, new species. 15. Mesosomal dorsum. 16. Prolateral surface of metatibia, metatarsus, and metapretarsus. 17. Forewing. 18. Metasomal dorsum.