Chlerogella eumorpha Engel, 2010

Engel, Michael, 2010, Revision of the Bee Genus Chlerogella (Hymenoptera, Halictidae), Part II: South American Species and Generic Diagnosis, ZooKeys 47 (47), pp. 1-100 : 43-47

Chlerogella eumorpha Engel , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F46DAF4B-A586-40D2-9201-9CFB0392EBFB

Figs 62–67, 72–73, Map 3

Holotype. ♀, ECUADOR: Pichincha, Nambillo Valley near Mindo , 1450 m, 8.vi.1987 [8 June 1987], M. Cooper ( COOP).

Paratypes. ECUADOR: 1♀, 1♁, Pichincha, Nambillo Valley near Mindo , 1450 m, 2.vii.1987 [2 July 1987], M. Cooper ( COOP) ; 1♁, Pichincha, Nambillo Valley near Mindo , 1450 m, 15.viii.1987 [15 August 1987], M. Cooper ( COOP) ; 1♁, Pichincha, Nambillo Valley near Mindo , 1450 m, 16.viii.1987 [16 August 1987], M. Cooper ( COOP) ; 1♁, Pichincha, Los Bancos , 1100 m, 1.vi.1987 [1 June 1987], M. Cooper ( COOP) .

Diagnosis. Chlerogella eumorpha may be recognized most easily by the combination of a moderately long malar space (Figs 63–64, 66–67) and brilliant metallic blue on the head and mesosoma (Figs 62–67).

Description. Female: Total body length 7.49–7.52 mm; forewing length 5.67– 5.79 mm. Head length 2.29–2.30 mm, width 1.69–1.71 mm. Clypeus beginning at lower tangent of compound eyes. Malar space 17.6–17.7% compound eye length (malar length 0.26 mm; compound eye length 1.47–1.48 mm) (Figs 63–64). Upper interorbital distance 0.78 mm; lower interorbital distance 0.57–0.58 mm. Upper portion of pronotum medially depressed, slightly elongate, medially less than an ocellar diameter in length; ventral portion of preëpisternal sulcus not broad, similar to scrobal sulcus and upper portion of preëpisternal sulcus; intertegular distance 1.31–1.35 mm; mesoscutellum weakly convex, not bigibbous. Basal vein distad cu-a by three times vein width; 1rs-m distad 1m-cu by two times vein width; 2rs-m distad 2m-cu by five times vein width, 2rs-m gently arched; first submarginal cell longer than combined lengths of second and third submarginal cells; second submarginal cell not narrowed anteriorly, anterior border of second submarginal cell along Rs slightly longer than that of third submarginal cell; posterior border of third submarginal cell about two times longer than anterior border. Distal hamuli arranged 2-1-2. Inner metatibial spur with four branches (not including apical portion of rachis).

Clypeus and supraclypeal area faintly imbricate with punctures separated by 1–2 times a puncture width; face with small, contiguous punctures, more widely spaced in malar space and bordering supraclypeal area; punctures of face blending to smooth in-

Figures 62–64. Holotype female of Chlerogella eumorpha sp. n. 62 Lateral habitus 63 Facial aspect 64 Lateral aspect of head.

tegument in ocellocular area and vertex, with punctures separated by 1–2 times a puncture width; gena smooth with minute punctures separated by 1–3 times a puncture width; postgena imbricate and impunctate. Pronotum finely imbricate with scattered minute punctures; mesoscutum smooth with small punctures separated by a puncture width, anteromedially punctures becoming exceedingly faint to absent and integu-

Figures 65–67. Paratype male of Chlerogella eumorpha sp. n. 65 Lateral habitus 66 Facial aspect 67 Lateral aspect of head.

ment finely imbricate; mesoscutellum and metanotum smooth with small punctures separated by a puncture width. Preëpisternum smooth with small punctures separated by 1–3 times a puncture width; mesepisternum smooth with small punctures separated by 2–6 times a puncture width, punctures weak; metepisternum smooth. Propodeum strongly imbricate. Metasoma finely imbricate.

Mandible dark brown except reddish at apex; labrum dark brown; clypeal apex dark brown, remainder of clypeus and head brilliant metallic azurite blue, with

Figures 68–73. Male terminalia for some Ecuadorian Chlerogella species. 68 Chlerogella agaylei sp. n., hidden and fused sterna VII and VIII 69 C. agaylei sp. n., genital capsule (left is dorsal aspect, right is ventral aspect) 70 C. materdonnae sp. n., hidden and fused sterna VII and VIII 7Ι C. materdonnae sp. n., genital capsule (left is dorsal aspect, right is ventral aspect) 72 C. eumorpha sp. n., hidden and fused sterna VII and VIII 73 C. eumorpha sp. n., genital capsule (left is dorsal aspect, right is ventral aspect). All scale bars = 1 mm.

purple highlights. Antenna dark brown except extreme base of scape lighter. Mesosoma brilliant metallic azurite blue, with purple highlights (Fig. 62); tegula dark brown. Wing membranes weakly infumate; veins dark brown. Legs dark brown except procoxa metallic blue. Metasoma dark brown, with apical margins of TII–VI translucent brown.

Pubescence white to slightly golden except fuscous setae on tarsi, tibiae, inner surface of metatibia and fuscous setae intermingled on apical metasomal segments.

Male: As described for the female except as follows: Total body length 8.24–8.26 mm; forewing length 5.73–5.93 mm. Head length 2.24–2.32 mm, width 1.56–1.61 mm. Clypeus beginning just above lower tangent of compound eyes. Malar space 17.6–17.8% compound eye length (malar length 0.26 mm; compound eye length 1.46–1.48 mm) (Figs 66–67). Upper interorbital distance 0.70–0.73 mm; lower interorbital distance 0.36–0.39 mm. First flagellomere about as long as pedicel, about as long as wide; second flagellomere 3.4 times length of first flagellomere; ventral surfaces of second through eleventh flagellomeres densely covered in placoid sensilla, placoid fields not disrupted. Intertegular distance 1.20–1.22 mm; mesoscutellum not bigibbous. Inner metatibial spur serrate. Apical margin of SIII entire; apical margin of SIV medially broadly and weakly concave, with short, broad, setose lobes produced on either side of apical concavity, with disc weakly depressed medially bordering concavity; apical margin of SV entire; apical margin of SVI emarginate; terminalia as depicted in figures 72 and 73.

Mandible, labrum, and clypeal apex pale yellow. Legs somewhat lighter than in female and with some metallic blue highlights.

Typical gender pilosity except postgena with numerous elongate, sinuate setae, such setae with short apical branches; posterior surface of procoxa, inner surfaces of trochanters (particularly dense on protrochanter), mesofemur, and metacoxa with elongate, apically-plumose setae, similar setae on inner surfaces of metatrochanter, metafemur, and metatibia except largely simple and somewhat sinuate, those of metatibia particularly elongate and sinuous at apices. Apical margin of SIII with diffuse fringe of moderate-length white setae; SIV with small medioapical pads of short fuscous setae on lobes bordering medial concavity; SV laterally with diffuse areas of long, inwardly-curved setae.

Etymology. The specific epithet is taken from the Greek term eumorpha , meaning “shapely”.

Comments. Chlerogella eumorpha is remarkably similar to C. elysia (vide infra), which occurs in the same general region, despite the significant differences in their coloration. The terminalia of males do show some differences that appear to be species specific and no Augochlorini are currently known to have such dramatic differences in coloration (e.g., see examples discussed by Engel and Gonçalves2010). Thus, for the time being I conservatively consider these extreme morphs to be separate species rather than lump them under a single epithet. Certainly discovery of the nests and further investigation into the biology of these seemingly rare bees will help to further clarify the circumscription of this taxon.