Sphecodes engeli Astafurova & Proshchalykin, 2020

Astafurova, Yulia V., Proshchalykin, Maxim Yu. & Schwarz, Maximilian, 2020, New and little-known species of the genus Sphecodes Latreille (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) from Southeast Asia, ZooKeys 937, pp. 31-88 : 31

Sphecodes engeli Astafurova & Proshchalykin sp. nov. Figures 53 , 54-59

Type material.

Holotype: ♀, Laos, Hua Phan Prov., Ban Saleui, Phou Pan Mts., 20°13'30"N, 103°59'26"E, 1350-1900 m, 08.V.2012, C. Holzschuh & locals (OLBL), Fig. 59 . Paratypes: 1 ♀, the same label as for holotype, but 27-28.IV.2011 (OLBL); Vietnam: 1 ♀, prov. Hoa Binh, Pa Co, 27-28.IV.2002, S. Belokobylskij (ZISP).

Diagnosis.

As with members of the Palaearctic hyalinatus species group ( Astafurova and Proshchalykin 2017a), the new species has a pronotum rounded between the dorsal and lateral surfaces, but it differs in the strongly transverse head (1.3 times as wide as long) with a straight upper margin as seen in frontal view (versus head 1.2-1.25 times as wide as long with rounded vertex as seen in frontal view in species of the hyalinatus group).

Description.

Wings with weak brownish darkening, veins and stigma brown; hind wing with angle between basal (M) and cubital (Cu) veins ca. 90°, costal margin with six hamuli. Preoccipital carina absent. Female. (holotype. Fig. 53 ). Total body length 7.5-8.5 mm, fore wing 6.5-7.0 mm. Head black (Fig. 55 ); strongly transverse, ca. 1.3 times as wide as long; vertex weakly elevated as seen in frontalview, distance from top of head to upper margin of a lateral ocellus approximately a half lateral ocellar diameter as seen in frontal view and ca. 2 diameters as seen in dorsal view; mandible bidentate; labrum trapezoidal, 0.7 times as long as basal width; gena wide, 1.2 times as wide as eye; clypeus medially slightly emarginated; supraclypeal area weakly bulging; clypeus and supraclypeal area with punctures (15-25 μm) separated by at most a puncture diameter; paraocular area and frons with confluent punctures, ocello-ocular area with punctures separated by 1-3 puncture diameters (Fig. 54 ), vertex behind ocelli and gena strigose; face below antennal sockets with sparse plumose setae, gena with sparse thin setae. Mesosoma black (Fig. 56 ); pronotum rounded between the dorsal and lateral surfaces; mesoscutum finely punctate (15-25 μm / 1-4); mesoscutellum irregularly punctate, medially sparsely; metafemur enlarged in proximal half, maximum width 0.4 times its length; hypoepimeral area, mesepisternum, propodeal triangle (metapostnotum) and lateral parts of propodeum reticulate rugose (Figs 56 , 57 ). Mesosoma (Fig. 58 ) sparsely punctate, T1 impunctate or with a few fine punctures; remaining terga basally with sparse and fine punctures (5-10 μm); marginal zones impunctate; pygidial plate dull, pointed apically, narrow, 0.6-0.7 times as wide as metabasitarsus; T1-T4 red, remaining terga red or red-brownish; sterna tessellate, with tiny and sparse shallow setae pores on S2 and coarse and dense on S3-S5.

Male unknown.

Etymology.

This species is dedicated to our colleague Dr. Michael S. Engel (University of Kansas, USA), in recognition of his significant contributions to systematic entomology.

Distribution.

Laos, Vietnam.

Figures

Figure 53. Sphecodes engeli Astafurova & Proshchalykin, sp. nov., female, holotype, lateral view. Slale bars: 1.0 mm.

Figures 54 - 59. Sphecodes engeli Astafurova & Proshchalykin, sp. nov., female, holotype 54, 55 head, dorsal view (54), frontal view (55) 56, 57 mesosoma, dorsal view (56), lateral view (57) 58 metasoma, dorsal view 59 labels. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.