Hoplitis (Anthocopa) spinidorsa Müller & Wood, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Müller, Andreas
name: Wood, Thomas J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Megachilidae
Hoplitis
Hoplitis spinidorsa

description: Hoplitis (Anthocopa) spinidorsa sp. nov.
Holotype. SPAIN: Granada: Sierra Nevada, Jardin Botanico, Hoya Pedraza, 37.1130°N / 3.4378°W, 1900 m, 9.6.2021, ♂ (leg. T. Wood). Holotype deposited in the Entomological Collection of ETH Zurich.
Paratypes. SPAIN: Granada: Sierra Nevada, Jardin Botanico, Hoya Pedraza, 37.1130°N / 3.4378°W, 1900 m, 9.6.2021, 1♀, 1♂ (leg. T. Wood). Paratypes deposited in the Entomological Collection of ETH Zurich.
Diagnosis. Hoplitis spinidorsa is the only representative of the subgenus Anthocopa, whose scutellar axilla is in both sexes lateroapically elongated into a long, pointed and inwardly directed spine (Fig. 17), a character that it shares with species of Heriades (Heriades) and Osmia (Hoplosmia). The females (Fig. 15) differ from those of the latter two taxa by the presence of a distinct hair basket on the underside of the head, which is formed by long and inwardly curved yellowish bristles arising from the ventral side of gena and mandible (Fig. 18), and by the strongly convex scutellum. The males (Fig. 16) differ by i) the quadripartite tergum 7 formed by two lateral teeth and two closely adjacent small median lobes (Fig. 19), ii) the triangular tuft of yellowish-white hairs medioapically projecting far beyond the margin of sternum 4 (Fig. 20), iii) two closely adjacent and nearly parallel longitudinal keels medioapically on sternum 6 (Fig. 20), and v) the dense tuft of long yellowish hairs arising from the very wide apical margin of the gonoforceps.
Description. FEMALE (Fig. 15): Body length 6.5 mm. Head: Head about 0.9× as long as wide. Distance between posterior margin of lateral ocellus and preoccipital margin about 2× as long as ocellar diameter. Maximum width of genal area about 0.75× as long as maximum width of compound eye (Fig. 18). Second segment of labial palpus about 2× as long as first segment and about 0.6× as long as compound eye. Mandible three-toothed and blackish except for preapical reddish zone. Clypeus medially distinctly bulged with foremost point in a distance of about one third of clypeal length from lower margin of supraclypeal area. Punctation of clypeus rather dense with interspaces reaching diameter of up to one puncture except for narrow apical zone, which is unpunctured, polished and distinctly surpassed by long yellowish bristles arising at base of unpunctured zone. Apical margin of clypeus sharp and straight. Pilosity of paraocular area and lower frons white, rather dense and suberect to erect. Pilosity of clypeal disc yellowish-white, sparse and erect. Supraclypeal area plane to very weakly impressed, its punctation almost as large as that of clypeus and medially scattered with interspaces reaching up to two, rarely more punctures. Punctation of frons rather dense with interspaces varying in size between diameter of half a puncture on median part to diameter of two punctures on lateral parts, punctures of about same size as those on clypeus to slightly smaller. Ventral side of gena and mandibles with long and inwardly curved yellowish bristles forming distinct basket on head underside (Fig. 18). Antenna blackish except for apical half of flagellum, which is partly (reddish-)brown on anterior and posterior side. Antennal segment 3 about 1.3× as long as wide, segments 4–11 shorter than wide and segment 12 about 1.6× as long as wide. Mesosoma: Parapsidal line long-linear. Punctation of scutum dense with interspaces hardly exceeding diameter of one puncture, punctures of about same size as those on clypeus. Punctation of mesepisternum moderately dense with interspaces reaching diameter of up to two punctures. Punctation of scutellum very dense with interspaces not exceeding diameter of half a puncture (Fig. 17). Scutellum near its base distinctly bulged. Axilla elongated into long, pointed and inwardly directed spine (Fig. 17). Basal area of propodeum polished except for very narrow transverse zone at its base, which is finely sculptured. Posterior surface of propodeum adjacent to basal area polished with dense and fine punctation. Tegula predominantly yellowish-red. Scutum sparsely covered with short and erect yellowish-white hairs. Posterior fourth of scutellum and metanotum with long and backwardly directed yellowish-red hairs (Fig. 17). Mesepisternum sparsely covered with suberect and moderately long yellowish-white hairs. Tibial spur of fore leg yellowish, its apex extended into short tip, which is about as long as basally wide. Tibial spurs of middle and hind leg yellowish, long, slender and almost straight. Pilosity on inner side of basitarsus of hind leg yellowish-red. Veins of fore and hind wing brown to dark brown. Stigma of fore wing dark brown. Metasoma: Punctation of tergal discs 1–5 rather scattered with interspaces varying in size between diameter of up to one puncture on terga 1 and 5 and distance of up to two, rarely more punctures on median parts of terga 2–4, punctures slightly smaller than those on scutum. Punctation of tergum 6 distinctly smaller than that of terga 1–5 and very dense with interspaces not reaching diameter of half a puncture. Marginal zones of terga 1–4 with short and uninterrupted white hair bands (Fig. 15). Marginal zone of tergum 5 reddish and with very short and inconspicuous white hair band. Tergal discs 2–5 covered with very short, erect and predominantly dark hairs. Pilosity of tergum 6 very short, appressed, whitish and sparse, not hiding cuticular surface. Scopa yellowish-red (Fig. 15), scopal hairs of sterna 2–4 apically partly beaded.
MALE (Fig. 16): Body length 7 mm. Head: Head 0.8–0.9× as long as wide. Distance between posterior margin of lateral ocellus and preoccipital margin 2.0–2.1× as long as ocellar diameter. Maximum width of genal area 0.6–0.7× as long as maximum width of compound eye. Second segment of labial palpus 2.1–2.2× as long as first segment and 0.62–0.63× as long as compound eye. Mandible three-toothed and black except for narrow reddish preapical zone. Apical margin of clypeus medially with short triangular process, section between this process and lateral clypeal corner emarginate. Frons, paraocular area, supraclypeal area, clypeus and hypostomal area covered with dense and predominantly erect to semierect white pilosity. Punctation of frons very dense with interspaces varying in size between diameter of less than half a puncture on median part to diameter of one puncture on lateral parts. Antenna blackish except for apical half of flagellum, which is partly (reddish-)brown on anterior and posterior side. Antennal segment 3 about 1.5× as long as wide, segments 4–12 slightly shorter than wide to almost as long as wide and segment 13 about 1.25× as long as wide. Ventral side of antennal segments 3–4 with long whitish hairs. Mesosoma: Parapsidal line long-linear. Punctation of scutum and mesepisternum dense with interspaces rarely reaching or exceeding diameter of one puncture, punctures slightly larger than those on frons. Punctation of scutellum very dense with interspaces not exceeding diameter of half a puncture except medially, where punctures may be more scattered. Scutellum near its base bulged.Axilla elongated into long, pointed and inwardly directed spine. Basal area of propodeum polished except for narrow transverse zone at its base, which is finely sculptured. Posterior surface of propodeum adjacent to basal area polished with dense and rather fine punctation. Tegula predominantly yellowish-red. Scutum sparsely beset with whitish hairs. Margins of scutum, scutellum and metanotum covered with rather dense, long and yellowish-red pilosity. Mesepisternum covered with similarly long and dense but whitish pilosity. Tibial spur of fore leg yellowish, its apex extended into tip, which is longer than basally wide. Tibial spurs of middle and hind leg yellowish, long, slender and almost straight. Pilosity on inner side of basitarsus of hind leg yellowish-red. Veins of fore and hind wing brown to dark brown. Stigma of fore wing dark brown with slightly lighter centre. Metasoma: Punctation of tergal discs rather dense with interspaces varying in size between diameter of half a puncture on lateral tergal sides and diameter of up to two punctures on median parts of terga 3–4, punctures of about same size as those on scutum. Marginal zones of terga (1,2)3–6 yellowish or reddish (Fig. 19) and of terga 1–4 with short white hair bands (Fig. 16). Tergal discs 3–5 covered with moderately long and predominantly dark hairs. Tergum 6 without lateral tooth. Tergum 7 quadripartite with two lateral teeth and two closely adjacent small median lobes, which are basally fused and crossed by a transverse swelling (Fig. 19). Apical margin of sterna 2–3 medially shallowly emarginate. Sternum 4 medioapically with triangular tuft of yellowish-white hairs projecting far beyond sternal margin (Fig. 20). Sternum 5 medially slightly impressed, its apical margin weakly emarginate (Fig. 20). Sternum 6 basally without pair of translucent membraneous flaps, medially with distinct roundish impression and medioapically with two closely adjacent and nearly parallel longitudinal keels (Fig. 20). Gonoforceps increasing in width towards its apex, which is very wide, diagonally truncate and beset with dense tuft of long yellowish hairs.
Distribution. Sierra Nevada in southern Spain.
Habitat. As for H. nevadensis sp. nov. (see above), which was found at the very same site as H. spinidorsa (Fig. 7).
Etymology. The species epithet refers to the spined axillae on the dorsal side of the mesosoma (lat. “spina” = spine, lat. “dorsum” = back)
description: Published as part of Müller, Andreas & Wood, Thomas J., 2025, Still undescribed bees in Europe-description of nine new European osmiine bee species (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), pp. 83-102 in Zootaxa 5631 (1) on pages 89-91, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5631.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/15326665