Perdita prodigiosa Portman & Griswold, sp. n.
Creators: name: Portman, Zachary M.
name: Neff, John L.
name: Griswold, Terry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Andrenidae
Perdita
Perdita prodigiosa

description: Perdita prodigiosa Portman & Griswold, sp. n.
Figs. 3 B, 4B, 14D–F, 20E–F, 22F–G, 23L, 41A, 44, 56L, 59I –K
Diagnosis. The female of P. prodigiosa is distinctive due to the lack of a metallic luster on the head and mesosoma. In the typical form, the metasoma is tan with a slight amber cast and dark brown markings on the borders of the terga (20F), however the dark marks can be reduced to nebulous lateral spots (20E). The face is entirely dark brown in the typical form (Fig. 22 F), but the clypeus and paraocular marks especially can be more or less lightened to tan (Fig. 22 G). The female is relatively distinct among Heteroperdita in having the pygidial plate triangular with a distinctly truncate apex (Fig. 24 M, P. frontalis has a similar pygidial plate), as well as having the 2m-cu vein of the second medial cell weakened dorsally (Fig. 4 B).
The male of P. prodigiosa is distinctive and bizarre. Along with P. pilonotata, it lacks the metallic sheen of most other Heteroperdita, and instead the body coloration ranges from tan to brown or black; the coloration is generally not uniform, and is instead splotchy and uneven (Fig. 44 B). It is also unique in that the metasoma is broad and dorsoventrally flattened (Fig. 14 F) and the pygidial plate lacks lateral definition and is expanded, resembling the other terga (Fig. 23 L). There is significant variation in the head size (Figs. 14 D–E), but the typical form is large and quadrate with small eyes, giving it an ant-like appearance. In general, the upper portion of the head is darker in small-headed specimens and lighter in large-headed specimens, and the mesosoma can be lightened to tan on the sides. Perdita prodigiosa can be further distinguished from the similar P. pilonotata male by the weakly impressed pronotal collar and layer of relatively dense, minute pubescence on the metasoma.
Description of female. Length: 2.9 mm. Forewing length: 1.7 mm.
Coloration. Head and mesosoma base color black or dark brown, lacking a distinct metallic sheen; clypeus ranging from dark brown to tan; supraclypeal mark generally dark brown, sometimes with tan transverse mark; paraocular mark generally dark brown, sometimes with tan transverse or subtriangular mark; subantennal mark generally dark brown, sometimes tan; mandible tan, tip reddish; labrum generally dark brown, sometimes tan; scape brown; antenna brown dorsally, tan ventrally; pronotal collar lacking transverse marks dorso-posteriorly; pronotal lobe white or tan; metapleuron and anterior propodeum occasionally slightly lightened to tan; legs dark brown except more or less tan on joints, anterior face of fore tibia, and all distal tarsi; wing veins dark brown; metasoma base color tan, often with amber cast, terga light medially and more or less bordered by poorly-defined dark brown marks on lateral, basal, and apical margins, T5 generally uniformly dark brown (Figs. 20 E–F); T2 fovea black; pygidial plate tan, slightly darkened basally.
Structure and vestiture. Head broader than long; lateral areas of face sparsely covered in recumbent white pubescence extending up to bottom of facial fovea, vertex with sparse erect pubescence; eyes subparallel, slightly converging ventrally; facial fovea obscure, linear, parallel to eye, extending from above top of antennal socket halfway to apex of eye; mandible with extremely minute subapical tooth; labrum quadrate, slightly less than 2X broader than long; disc of clypeus broader than high, flat, apically protruding slightly less than 1 OD from face; lateral extension reaching 1/3 distance to base of mandible; venter of head with abundant inward-facing broadly hooked hairs; mesosoma strongly tessellate, impunctate, slightly shiny; pronotal collar slightly impressed, humeral angle weak; mesepisternum with very sparse, thin erect white pubescence; scutum with scattered sparse erect hairs, hairs becoming thickened, denser, and recumbent along posterior margin; propodeum with posterior face relatively smooth and shiny except for distinctly tessellate dorso-anterior triangle; fore coxa and anterior margin of venter of mesepisternum with abundant, broadly hooked hairs; apex of mid tibia with some short, thick, curved setae; forewing with second medial cell present but 2m-cu vein distinctly weakened dorsally (Fig. 4 B); metasoma oval, narrow basally, tapering apically, widest at T3 (Fig. 20 E); terga tessellate and impunctate; T2 fovea short, linear, slightly thickened, about half length of T2; pygidial plate triangular, apex strongly truncate (Fig. 24 M); hairs of prepygidial fimbria thickened, sparse.
Description of male. Length: 2.3 mm. Forewing length: 1.5 mm.
Coloration. Head (Figs. 14 D–E) and mesosoma base color dark brown; face lightened to tan below level of antenna; mandible tan, tip brown; labrum tan, sometimes with basomedial dark spot; scape dark brown; antenna brown, more or less lightened to tan apically and ventrally; pronotal collar light brown or tan; pronotal lobe tan (Fig. 44 B); mesepisternum often lighter brown than scutum; metapleuron and anterior propodeum often lightened to tan; legs dark brown except generally lightened to tan apically and at joints; wing veins dark brown; metasoma uniformly dark brown (Fig. 14 F); T2 fovea black.
Structure and vestiture. Head quadrate, broader than long, antenna relatively low on face, vertex prominent (Figs. 14 D–E); face nearly devoid of pubescence with well-spaced, minute hairs; eyes relatively reduced in size, parallel or slightly diverging dorsally; mandible simple, slender, extending to far side of labrum in repose; labrum quadrate, 2X broader than long; disc of clypeus short, broader than high, slightly convex, apically protruding less than 1 OD from face; lateral extension completely folded over; head with fine, dense pubescence ventrally; mesosoma strongly tessellate, impunctate, slightly shiny; pronotal collar slightly impressed, humeral angle indistinct; mesepisternum and scutum with very sparse, long, erect, fine pubescence; hind tibia with sparse, short, thickened hairs; metasoma broader than mesosoma, strongly oval, narrow basally, widest at margin of T2/T3 (Fig. 14 F), strongly dorsoventrally flattened; terga tessellate, slightly shiny with minute, close punctures; terga covered in short, fine, obscure pubescence, particularly laterally and on apical terga; T2 fovea obscurely placed on lateral margin of terga, linear, 1/2 length of T2; pygidial plate lacking lateral definition, appearing similar to other terga, tessellate and obscurely punctate, apical rim smooth and slightly flexed outward, medial tuft of hairs apically on ventral surface (Fig. 23 L); hairs of prepygidial fimbria with few thickened hairs laterally.
Terminalia. S8 (Fig. 56 L) with spiculum lacking, reduced to short ventrally-folded segment, apex with two poorly-defined sublateral points; lateral apodemes protruding straight out; apical portion slightly convex, longer than broad, sides converging slightly; apex strongly truncate; sparse hairs ventrally; oval of thinned cuticle basally. Genital capsule as in Figs. 59 I–K. Gonobase/gonocoxite enlarged and broad; gonostyli separated dorsally by broad, shallow U-shape; dorsal lobe of gonostylus with narrow base, apex large and bulbous, expanded dorsoventrally (resembling balancing rock formation); ventral lobe of gonostylus long, narrow, abruptly bent ventrally before gradually curving along margin of dorsal lobe of gonostylus until pointing upwards again, apex with few minute hairs; volsella exceeding rest of genitalia; cuspis exceptionally enlarged and elongate with apex expanded, slightly bifurcate, ornamented with multiple spicules, particularly along lateral margins; digitus reduced to small flap at inner base of cuspis; penis valve long and narrow, close together basally, slightly diverging dorsally, strongly curving ventrally, course paralleling lobes of gonostylus; endophallus reduced, not extending beyond gonobase.
Floral records. Boraginaceae (24 ♂ 78 ♀): Nama sp. 18 ♂ 66 ♀, Tiquilia latior 6 ♂ 11 ♀, T. sp. 1 ♀, Malvaceae (4 ♀): Sphaeralcea sp. 4 ♀. Note: as discussed in the introduction, the Nama sp. records almost certainly represent misidentified Tiquilia.
Phenology. Active from April to August.
Distribution. Mojave Desert (Fig. 41 A), USA. Currently known only from the northeastern portion of Clark County, Nevada, USA.
Type material. Holotype data: ♂, NEVADA: Clark Co.: Glendale, 20 mi E (36.4431 -114.4272): 2 May 1986, P.F. & D.M. Torchio, Nama sp. (BBSL, accession no. BBSL 344084). Paratype data: (17 ♂ 21 ♀) NEVADA: Clark Co.: Boulder City, 23 mi NE (36.1572 -114.7933): 1 ♀, 30 Apr 1986, P.F. & D.M. Torchio, Sphaeralcea sp.; Glendale, 20 mi E (36.4431 -114.4272): 9 ♂ 10 ♀, 2 May 1986, P.F. & D.M. Torchio, Nama sp.; Riverside, 7.5 km SW; Virgin Valley; New Gold Butte Rd (36.68498 -114.27368): 1 ♀, 16 May 2012, Z.M. Portman, Tiquilia latior; Riverside, 7.5 km SW; Virgin Valley; New Gold Butte Rd (36.68514 -114.27375): 4 ♂ 5 ♀, 16 May 2012, Z.M. Portman, T. latior (1 ♂ 1 ♀ UCRC); St. Thomas Gap (36.4023 -114.093): 1 ♂, 7 Jun 1998, F.D. Parker; St. Thomas Gap (36.4041 -114.0933): 1 ♀, 27 Aug 1998, O.J. Messinger, S. Messinger, C. Schultz; St. Thomas Gap (36.4058 - 114.0937): 1 ♂, 29 Jun 1998, M. Andres, K. Keen, K. Receveur, C. Schultz; St. Thomas Wash (36.435 -114.4363): 2 ♀, 5 Aug 1998, M. Andres, C. Schultz; Tramp Ridge, E (36.3905 -114.1287): 1 ♂ 1 ♀, 4 Aug 1998, M. Andres, C. Schultz; Weiser Ridge, 1.89 mi E (36.589 -114.5295): 1 ♂, 17 May 2005, R. Andrus, N. sp..
Additional material examined. Total specimens: 10 ♂ 106 ♀. NEVADA: Clark Co.: Blue Point Spr. (36.3912 -114.4295): 1 ♀, 30 Apr 2004, S.M. Higbee, Tiquilia sp.; Boulder City, 23 mi NE (36.1572 -114.7933): 3 ♀, 30 Apr 1986, P.F. & D.M. Torchio, Sphaeralcea sp.; Glendale, 20 mi E (36.4431 -114.4272): 7 ♂ 54 ♀, 2 May 1986, P.F. & D.M. Torchio, Nama sp.; Kaolin Wash, S (36.479 -114.5267): 1 ♀, 27 Aug 1998, O.J. Messinger, S. Messinger, C. Schultz, T. latior; Riverside, 7.5 km SW; Virgin Valley; New Gold Butte Rd (36.68514 -114.27375): 2 ♂ 4 ♀, 16 May 2012, Z.M. Portman, T. latior; St. Thomas Wash (36.435 -114.4363): 1 ♂ 29 ♀, 5 Aug 1998, M. Andres, C. Schultz; Tramp Ridge, E (36.3905 -114.1287): 12 ♀, 4 Aug 1998, M. Andres, C. Schultz; Weiser Ridge, 1.89 mi E (36.589 -114.5295): 2 ♀, 17 May 2005, R. Andrus, N. sp..
Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the Latin prodigiosus, meaning “unnatural,” “wonderful,” or “prodigious” due to the bizarre features of the male.
Remarks. The male of P. prodigiosa is unique among Perdita in having the metasoma dorsoventrally flattened. That character, along with the quadrate head and brown coloration suggest that the male may spend a lot of time in the nest. This hypothesis is tentatively supported by the relatively few males that have been collected compared to females (28 males versus 127 females). However, the largest specimens do not show a reduced wing size found in the nestbound dimorphic males of Macrotera portalis (Danforth 1991). The female is variable in the extent of dark markings on the face and metasoma. The metasoma can range from almost entirely tan to tan heavily marked with brown. Especially in specimens that have been lightened from pan-trapping or storage in alcohol, the area of the face below the antennae can take on a very light tan color.
description: Published as part of Portman, Zachary M., Neff, John L. & Griswold, Terry, 2016, Taxonomic revision of Perdita subgenus Heteroperdita Timberlake (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), with descriptions of two ant-like males, pp. 1-97 in Zootaxa 4214 (1) on pages 65-67, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4214.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/253086