Sphecodes tantalus Nurse, 1903

Astafurova, Yulia & Proshchalykin, Maxim, 2020, New and little-known bees of the genus Sphecodes Latreille, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Halictidae) from the Himalayas, European Journal of Taxonomy 729, pp. 74-120 : 110-112

Sphecodes tantalus Nurse, 1903

Figs 19 , 20 A–D

Sphecodes tantalus Nurse, 1903: 539 , ♀.

Sphecodes tantalus – Dar et al. 2018: 531. — Dar & Wani 2018: 1432.

Diagnosis

The female of this species is similar to that of S. perplexus (refer to Diagnosis of S. perplexus above).

Material examined

Syntypes INDIA • 1 ♀; “(syntype), <red circle>”, “ Kashmir [Jammu and Kashmir] 5–6000 ft. 5.01”, “ Col. C. G. Nurse Collection, 1920-72”, “ Sphecodes tantanus Nurse ”, “♀, Type”, “B.M. TYPE HYM. 17.a.585”; NHMUK 013380356 • 1 ♀; “ Kashmir 5–6000 ft. 5.01”; ZMHB .

Descriptive notes

Wings hyaline, without brownish darkening; hind wing with the angle between basal (M) and cubital (Cu) veins ca 80°, costal margin with six hamuli.

Female

Total body length 8 mm ( Fig. 19 ). Head strongly transverse, ca 1.3 times as wide as long ( Fig. 20A ); vertex weakly elevated as seen in frontal view (distance from top of head to upper margin of lateral ocellus at most a lateral ocellar diameter), but wide as seen in dorsal view (approximately three ocellar diameters); F1 and F2 strongly transverse, 0.6–0.7 times as long as wide, F3 almost square; labrum semi-oval, 0.6 times as long as wide; clypeus and ocello-ocular area with dense punctures separated by at most a half puncture diameter; paraocular and supracypeal areas with relatively dense, but thin plumose pubescence, not obscuring integument. Mesoscutum with sparse punctures (20–25μ m) separated by 2–5 puncture diameters ( Fig. 20C ); hypoepimeral area reticulate; metafemur strongly enlarged in proximal half, maximum width 0.4 times its length; legs red. Metasomal T1 impunctate, T2–T4 with a few fine setal pores, marginal zones impunctate; pygidial plate dull, 0.8 times as wide as metabasitarsus; T1–T5 red ( Fig. 20B ).

Male

Unknown.

Distribution

Himalayas: India (Jammu and Kashmir); India (Rajasthan according to Ascher & Pickering 2020: map).

Figures

Fig. 19. Sphecodes tantalus Nurse, 1903. Syntype, ♀ (ZMHB). Habitus in lateral view. Scale bar = 1 mm.

Fig. 20. Sphecodes tantalus Nurse, 1903. Syntype, ♀ (ZMHB). A. Head in frontal view. B. Metasoma in dorsal view. C. Mesoscutum and propodeum in dorsal view. D. Propodeum in dorsal view. Scale bars: A–C = 1 mm; D = 0.5 mm.