Andrena (Warnckandrena) otoolei Pisanty, 2024

Pisanty, Gideon & Wood, Thomas James, 2024, The early-diverging subgenera of the bee genus Andrena (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) in the Old World, Zootaxa 5474 (5), pp. 451-488 : 464-465

Andrena (Warnckandrena) otoolei Pisanty sp. nov.

( Figs. 16–17 , 24–26 , 39)

Female ( Fig. 16 ).

Body length: 13.5–14.5 mm.

Colour. Body and legs dark. Flagellomeres 4–10 reddish, especially on anterior side. Apical tarsomeres light brown. Wings hyaline to weakly infuscate, veins and stigma brown. Tergal marginal zones almost as dark as tergal discs, occasionally slightly reddish ( Fig. 16 ).

Pubescence. Body mostly with medium to long, minutely plumose hairs, in most parts coloured yellowish-white to golden, the exact colour often changing with the angle of view ( Figs. 16–17 ). Genal area and lower 2/3 of face, up to level of antennal sockets, with yellowish-white to golden hairs; upper 1/3 of face with dark hairs. Facial foveae with dense very short hair, whitish in lower half, brown in upper half ( Fig. 17 ). Mesonotum and scutellum with moderately long and dense yellowish to golden hair, partly obscuring underlying cuticle. Mesepisternum fully covered with long and dense hair, golden on dorsal part, whitish on ventral part ( Fig. 16 ). Propodeal corbicula incomplete, dorsoposterior fringe with very long and dense, golden plumose hairs. Corbicular surface with scattered, long yellowish simple hairs. Legs with whitish to golden hairs. Femoral and tibial scopae with simple golden hairs ( Fig. 16 ). Flocculus complete, whitish-yellow. Tergal discs 1–2 with medium-lengthed, moderately dense yellowishgolden hairs; 3–4 with very short, thin whitish hairs. Tergal marginal zones 1–4 with short and thin, moderately dense, lightly-coloured hair, forming weakly discernible hair bands. Terminal fringe dark brown ( Fig. 16 ).

Head ( Figs. 16–17 ). 1.1–1.2 times broader than long ( Fig. 17 ). Galea matt, very finely shagreened. Mandible bidentate. Glossa long, 9 times longer than broad. Labral process much broader than long, more or less arched, surface roughened. Clypeus evenly, distinctly domed, strongly shagreened and matt except for apical margin which is often shiny; punctation moderate, distance between punctures 1–1.5 puncture diameters, becoming denser near apex, without a clear impunctate midline. Lower half of paraocular area smooth and shiny near ventral margin, elsewhere finely shagreened and very densely, finely punctured. Malar area length equals 0.25 width of mandible base ( Fig. 17 ). Supraclypeal area strongly protuberant, with almost confluent punctures. Facial foveae long, broad on upper part, weakly tapering below, extending from level of upper margin of lateral ocellus to below base of clypeus, 0.7 times as broad as antennocular distance, separated from compound eye by narrow shiny cuticular strip. Distance of fovea from lateral ocellus about 0.7 ocellar diameter ( Fig. 17 ). Flagellomere 1 1.1 times longer than 2+3+4. Frons matt, finely striated and densely, finely punctured ( Fig. 17 ). Vertex matt, very finely shagreened, very shallowly punctured mostly near posterior margin. Ocelloccipital distance about 1.7 ocellar diameters. Genal area 0.9 times as broad as compound eye, posterior margin rounded.

Mesosoma. Dorsolateral angle of pronotum distinctly elevated, often forming a weak transverse pronotal ridge, lateral carina absent. Mesosomal surfaces strongly and finely shagreened, punctation very fine, shallow and often inconspicuous. Mesonotum shagreened and matt, distance between punctures 1–2 puncture diameters. Propodeal triangle very finely shagreened, without rugae. Inner side of hind femur not carinate. Inner hind tibial spur not broadened basally, straight, slightly curved near apex. Hind pretarsal claw with strong inner tooth. Stigma slender. Recurrent vein 1 meets second submarginal cell at its middle or slightly proximal to it. Nervulus interstitial.

Metasoma. Tergal disc 1 finely shagreened and matt, the following discs gradually more shiny and weakly shagreened, especially apically; tergal discs densely, very finely punctured, distance between punctures 1–1.5 puncture diameters. Tergal marginal zones hardly depressed, finely shagreened and matt, impunctate. Pygidial plate shagreened, without distinct elevated medial area.

Male ( Fig. 24 ).

Body length: 13–14 mm.

Colour. Body and legs dark ( Fig. 24 ). Clypeus fully yellow, except for two pairs of small lateral dark spots, one at mid length and one close to apex. Paraocular area dark ( Fig. 25 ). Antennae dark, anterior side of flagellomeres 3–11 covered with minute grey setae. Tarsi brown, inner side lighter-coloured. Wings weakly infuscate, veins and stigma brown. Tergal marginal zones dark basally, reddish-brown near apex ( Fig. 24 ).

Pubescence. Head, mesosoma and tergal discs 1–3 covered with long minutely-plumose hair, mostly white to golden ( Fig. 24 ). Clypeus with sparse, short to medium yellowish hairs. Supraclypeal area and lower half of paraocular area with long white hairs. Frons and ocellar triangle with short to medium brown hairs ( Fig. 25 ). Posterior margin of vertex with long yellowish hairs. Upper posterior margin of compound eye with brown hairs. Gena with medium-lengthed yellowish hair on dorsal half, very long and dense white hair on ventral half. Mesonotum, scutellum and metanotum with moderately dense, medium-lengthed yellowish to golden hair. Mesepisternum and propodeum with long and dense yellowish to golden hair. Legs with yellowish to golden hair. Tergal discs 1–3 with moderately dense and long yellowish hairs reaching up to base of following tergum. Tergal marginal zones 1–3 and tergal disc 4 with short yellowish hairs. Tergal marginal zones 4–5, tergal disc 5 and terminal fringe with short brown hairs ( Fig. 24 ).

Head ( Figs. 24–25 ).About as long as broad ( Fig. 25 ). Galea finely shagreened. Labral process smooth and shiny, much broader than long, more or less trapezoidal, medioapical margin slightly concave. Clypeus evenly arched, fully shagreened and matt, punctation fine and shallow, distance between punctures 2–4 puncture diameters, without distinct impunctate midline. Lower part of paraocular area finely shagreened, densely, obliquely punctured, distance between punctures 0.5–1 puncture diameters. Malar area length 0.35–0.4 widths of mandible base. Flagellomere 1 0.9 times shorter than 2+3+4 ( Fig. 25 ). Ocelloccipital distance 1.7 ocellar diameters. Vertex moderately carinate. Genal area 0.9 times as broad as compound eye.

Mesosoma. Integument sculpture and wing venation similar to female, mesonotal punctation slightly sparser.

Metasoma. Integument sculpture similar to female, but tergal marginal zones more clearly depressed.

Genitalia and hidden sterna ( Figs. 26 , 39). Genital capsule very large and robust. Gonocoxites extremely large, constituting more than half length of genital capsule. Gonocoxites rounded medioapically, without dorsal lobes. Gonostylus blade broadened, pointed ventroapically, rounded dorsoapically. Penis valves of moderate width, ovally broadened at mid length. Volsella small, weakly developed, digitus rounded, bulb-shaped ( Fig. 26 ). Sternum 8 columnar, gradually narrowing apically, apical process broadened, broader than long ( Fig. 39 ).

Diagnosis. The female of Andrena otoolei closely resembles A. ramlehiana , and was confused with the latter by Warncke. The best distinguishing feature between the two is the colour of the hair on the disc of tergum 4, which is white to yellowish in A. otoolei ( Fig. 16 ), but dark brown in A. ramlehiana ( Fig. 14 ). In addition, the female of A. otoolei has a larger body size and a longer glossa compared to A. ramlehiana , and the apical margin of the clypeus is often smooth to weakly shagreened ( Fig. 17 ; entire clypeus fully shagreened in A. ramlehiana , Fig. 15 ). The male of Andrena otoolei is easily distinguished from all other Warnckandrena except A. papio by the broad genitalia lacking a dorsal gonocoxite lobe ( Fig. 26 ). Compared to A. papio , the male of A. otoolei has a shorter malar area ( Figs. 21–22, 24–25 ), inner margins of gonocoxites that are parallel almost to apex (strongly diverging apically in A. papio ), broader penis valves, and smaller digiti that are hidden behind the gonocoxite in dorsal view (clearly visible above the level of the gonocoxite in A. papio ) ( Figs. 23, 26 ).

Distribution: Israel, Lebanon, and southern and western Turkey.

Flight period: March–April.

Flower records:? Brassicaceae ; Fabaceae : Vicia sp.

Pollen preferences: Three pollen loads from Harran, Turkey consisted of 100% Faboideae pollen ( Ononis - type, Trifolium pratense - type, Medicago sativa - type), suggesting that the species is broadly oligolectic on this plant subfamily.

Genetic sequences available: BOLD accession nos. ANDGP011-23 ( Israel), WPATW1173-23 ( Lebanon).

HOLOTYPE: ISRAEL • ♂; Shoham [Shoham Forest Park]; [approx. 31.997° N, 34.960° E]; 17 Mar. 2010; L. Friedman leg.; SMNHTAU 47616 .— PARATYPES: ISRAEL • 1♀; Gonen , 21 km NW Zefat; 10 Mar. 1990; R. Kasher leg.; on Vicia sp. ; SMNHTAU • 2♂; Mt. Meron ; 900 m a.s.l.; 14–15 Apr. 1999; S.P.M. Roberts leg.; OUMNH • 1♂; Shoham [Forest Park]; 32°00’ N, 34°57’ E; 15 Mar. 2013; U. Ben Dor leg.; BOLD accession no. ANDGP011-23; SMNHTAU 348662 .— LEBANON • 1♂; Beqaa, Beqaa valley, Qaraoun , 3.5 km W of Madjal Balhis; 33.5377° N, 35.7038° E; 900 m a.s.l.; 5 Apr. 2023; T.J. Wood leg.; TJWC • 1♀; ibid.; BOLD accession no. WPATW1173-23 .— TURKEY • 4♀; Harran , 10 km S Urfa; 26 Apr. 1972; R. Desmier de Chenon leg.; OLML • 1♀; Kayapınar (Manisa – İzmir); 19 Apr. 1972; R. Desmier de Chenon leg.; on crucifers [?]; OLML • 1♂; Side ; 10 Apr. 1974; K. Warncke leg.; OLML .

Etymology. The species is named in honour of the English bee researcher Christopher Anselm O’Toole (1945– 2021). The species epithet is a noun in the genitive case.

Remarks. Warncke confused the female of this species with A. ramlehiana , which is known to us only from Israel’s Coastal Plain. Any A. ramlehiana specimens outside this range are suspected to be A. otoolei sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURES 10–17. Andrena (Warnckandrena) female habitus (10, 12, 14, 16) and heads (11, 13, 15, 17): 10–11, A. innesi Gribodo; 12–13, A. papio sp. nov.; 14–15, A. ramlehiana Pérez; 16–17, A. otoolei sp. nov.

FIGURES 18–29. Andrena (Warnckandrena) male habitus (18, 21, 24, 27), heads (19, 22, 25, 28) and genitalia (20, 23, 26, 29): 18–20, A. coromanda Warncke; 21–23, A. papio sp. nov.; 24–26, A. otoolei sp. nov.; 27–29, A. curiosa (Morawitz).

FIGURES 30–43. Andrena (Warnckandrena) male habitus (30, 33), heads (31, 34) genitalia (32, 35), eighth sterna (36–41) and seventh sterna (42–43): 30–32, 38, A. innesi Gribodo; 33–35, 41, A. ramlehiana Pérez; 36, A. coromanda Warncke; 37, 42, A. curiosa (Morawitz); 39, A. otoolei sp. nov.; 40, 43, A. papio sp. nov.