Bembecinus similis Gadallah & Edmardash 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Gadallah, Neveen S.
name: Edmardash, Yusuf A.
name: Abu El-Ghiet, Usama M.
name: Al-Fifi, Zarrag I. A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Crabronidae
Bembecinus
Bembecinus similis

description: Bembecinus similis Gadallah & Edmardash sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: DC875546-2A68-47C0-958D-8BDCBDB19D1E
Figs 1 (A–E), 2(A–C), 3(A–C)
Type material: Saudi Arabia, Holotype (♀), Fifa Mountain (Jazan Province), 1260 m [17º16’07ʺN 43º07’32.3ʺE], May, 2023, Malaise trap in coffee orchard, Usama Abu El-Ghiet collector.
Recognition. The new species belongs to B. tridens group because of the following combination of characters (de Beaumont 1954; Schmid-Egger 2004): eyes noticeably convergent towards clypeus; flagellum normal, not claviform, F1 about 2.2× as long as wide; clypeus shorter than least distance between eyes; front metatarsus not enlarged; hindfemur more than 3.5× as long as wide; gastral terga shiny, sparsely punctate. Characters of our female specimen does not agree well with Schmid-Egger’s key (2004: 12). It resembles B. proximus in having T 1 with a band interrupted medially, T 2 with complete band, T 3 with small band medially and T 6 black. It differs from B. proximus in having T 4 completely black (T 4 with complete yellow band in B. proximus), and T 5 with complete band (T 5 with lateral spots in B. proximus). It matches B. bytinskii in de Beaumont’s key (1954: 246, couplet 2) in having the propodeum without posterior notch and T 4 entirely black. However, it differs from female of B. bytinskii in having T 1 with the band interrupted medially (Fig. 1E) (T 1 with complete band in B. bytinskii, see fig. 60 in Schmid-Egger 2004, or very slightly notched medially (de Beaumont 1954), as well as Saudi Arabian specimens (see Fig. 3E); T 5 with band widened laterally and medially (T 5 with band widened laterally, and deeply concave medially in B. bytinskii); scutellum, metanotum and propodeum all black (Fig. 2B) (scutellum with lateral yellow spots, metanotum with central band, and sometimes outer edge of propodeum with some yellow in female of B. bytinskii (Fig. 3E)); S 2 and S 3 with lateral small triangular yellowish spots (Fig. 3C) (S 2 –S 5 with lateral spots and small band apically in female of B. bytinskii); apical flagellomere distinctly excavated ventrally, spoon-like (Fig. 3A) (apical flagellomere normal in female of B. bytinskii); clypeus with baso-medial black, quadrate spot, among which a rounded yellow spot could be seen (Fig. 1D) (clypeus with apico-median black spot in female of B. bytinskii (Fig. 3D)).
Description of female holotype: Body length: 10 mm.
Colouration (Figs 1A–E, 3B, C): Body shiny black, with the following parts yellow: inner eye orbit with thin streak not reaching upper margin, clypeus (except for a baso-median black quadrate area), labrum (whitish), antenna ventrally, pronotal collar, pronotal lobe, postero-lateral spot on mesoscutum, long spot on tegula, subapical band on T 1 (distinctly interrupted medially), complete band on T 2 apically, slightly widened laterally and medially, small median posterior marking on T 3, complete band on T 5 (conspicuously narrowed laterally), forefemur apically as well as apical half ventrally, foretibia (except apical two-thirds ventrally), foretarsus (except metatarsus black ventrally), tips of midfemur and midtarsus (which are ivory white), hindtibia (except black tip ventrally), all hindtarsus; claws yellow with dark tip. Gastral T 4 & T 6 entirely black; mandible ferruginous medially, black at base and tip; apical middle tarsomere pale brownish; gastral S 2 and S 3 with posterolateral triangular whitish markings.
Head (Figs 1C, D, 2A, 3A). Smooth, impunctate; frons with fine short setae medially as well as along inner eye orbits; vertex smooth and shiny, very short; eye inner margins conspicuously convergent towards clypeus; ocellar triangle with base longer than lateral side; antennal scape relatively long, about as long as F1 & F2 combined, F2 less than 2.0× as long as wide; apical flagellomere deeply concave ventrally (spoon-like); clypeus wider than long, with dense silvery pubescence laterally, flattened to slightly concave at apex; labrum semicircular; mandible short, with blunt tip, with one subapical tooth.
Thorax (Fig. 2A, B, 3B). Entirely smooth and shiny; pronotal collar is visible in dorsal view; propodeum with fine, whitish short setae laterally, superficially punctate medially, roundly projected postero-laterally. Fore metatarsus somewhat edged ventrally (black here), with five unequal whitish to yellowish spines; tarsomere II very short, like metatarsus with sharp ventral black edge, with two long unequal spines; pulvillus distinctly large; midtibia and tarsus spinose (with short transparent spines); hind legs normal. Wings hyaline, with dark veins.
Gaster (Figs 1E, 2C, 3C). Shiny, with fine setiferous punctures; last tergum pointed apically; gastral sterna as finely punctate as terga.
Male: Unknown.
Etymology: The name of the new species refers to its similarity to Bembecinus bytinskii.
Distribution: Saudi Arabia (Fifa in Jazan Province).
description: Published as part of Gadallah, Neveen S., Edmardash, Yusuf A., Abu El-Ghiet, Usama M. & Al-Fifi, Zarrag I. A., 2024, New additions to the crabronid fauna of the Arabian Peninsula and Saudi Arabia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea (Spheciformes): Crabronidae), new distribution records and new species, pp. 549-570 in Zootaxa 5403 (5) on pages 550-554, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5403.5.3, http://zenodo.org/record/10562389