Hoplitis (Anthocopa) caucasicola Müller, 2012, spec. nov.
Creators: name: Müller, Andreas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Megachilidae
Hoplitis
Hoplitis caucasicola

description: Hoplitis (Anthocopa) caucasicola spec. nov.
Holotype: Georgia: Abkhazia, Gagry region, Mt. Mamzyshkha, 1600m, 20.6.2006, ɗ (leg. D. Kasatkin), [ETHZ]. Paratype: Turkey, Artvin: Yalnizcam daglari, Yalnizcam gecidi, 2570m, 26.7.1996, 1 Ψ (leg. P. & A. Rasmont).
The collection localities of the only two individuals of H. caucasicola known so far are separated by a distance of about 300km. Although their overall morphology closely corresponds to each other, it cannot be excluded with certainty that the male from Georgia and the female from northeasternmost Turkey belong to different species.
Diagnosis. H. caucasicola is a member of the villosa group of the subgenus Anthocopa (Müller, 2012). The female can be separated from the other species of this group except for H. brevispina (TKALC Ù), H. ursina (FRIESE) and H. villosa (SCHENCK) by the lack of distinct whitish hair bands along the apical margin of the terga. The scopa of the eastern Turkish species H. brevispina is black, whereas the scopa of H. caucasicola is reddish. The metasoma of the northern African species H. ursina is covered with uniformly fox-red pilosity, whereas the metasomal pilosity of H. caucasicola is yellowish-white on terga 1–3 and black on terga 4–6. In the European species H. villosa, the pilosity on tergum 3 is usually black (yellowish-white in H. caucasicola), the body length is smaller (10–12mm vs. 13mm), the ocellooccipital distance is shorter (3.25x the diameter of the ocellus vs. 3.5x) and the apical margin of the clypeus is shallowly and narrowly emarginated medially (almost straight in H. caucasicola; Fig. 15). The male of H. caucasicola can be differentiated from the other species of the villosa group that possess a median spine at the apical margin of sternum 3 by the following combination of characters: pilosity of metasoma yellowish-red on terga 1–2 and black on terga 3–7 (uniformly fox-red in H. ursina); spine of sternum 3 long and slender (short and wide in H. brevispina); upper part of the posterior side of antennal segment 4 without hairs (densely covered with short whitish hairs in the east-mediterranean species H. unispina (ALFKEN)); antennal segment 3 as long as broad (1.25x as long as broad in the Greek species H. graeca (TKALC Ù)); punctation between lateral ocellus and compound eye extremely fine with the single punctures being nearly imperceptible (much coarser in H. villosa); characteristic shape of the gonoforceps (Fig. 16; see Tkalců (2000) for the genitalia of the other spine-bearing species of the villosa group).
Description. Female: Body length: 13mm. Head: Second segment of the labial palpus about 1.75x as long as the first segment. Antennal segment 3 2x as long as segment 4. Clypeus slightly convex, its apical margin broadly polished and almost straight medially (Fig. 15). Clypeus very densely punctate with interspaces not exceeding the diameter of half a puncture except for its lateral parts, where the interspaces occasionally reach the diameter of one puncture. Supraclypeal area and frons very densely punctate with interspaces not exceeding the diameter of half a puncture. Punctation of the lateral parts of the vertex less dense with interspaces of the diameter of up to one puncture. Head about 0.9x as long as broad. Distance between lateral ocellus and preoccipital ridge almost 3.5x as long as the ocellar diameter. Thorax: Scutum and scutellum very densely punctate with interspaces of less than the diameter of half a puncture except medially and laterally, where the punctation is slightly less dense. Basal zone of the propodeum polished except for a narrow basal area, which is shagreened. Hind tibial spurs yellowish, long and slender and nearly straight. Metasoma: Terga without apical hair bands, covered with a long pilosity that is yellowish-white lacking any dark hairs on terga 1–3 and blackish lacking any light hairs on terga 4–5. Tergum 6 densely beset with short blackish hairs. Scopa uniformly fox-red, on sternum 6 blackish. Punctation of the disc as well as on the basal two thirds of the apical zone of terga 1–5 rather fine and dense with interspaces of the diameter of one to one and a half punctures. Punctation of tergum 6 distinctly finer and denser than on the preceding terga.
Male: Body length: 13mm. Head: Face, vertex, genae and hypostomal area densely covered with a long yellowish-red pilosity. Second segment of the labial palpus about 1.9x as long as the first segment. Antennal segment 3 as long as broad, segment 4 conspicuously large and 0.75x as long as wide, segments 5–11 half as long as wide, segment 12 slightly longer and segment 13 as long as broad. Posterior side of antennal segment 4 lacking hairs on its upper part. Punctation of a narrow transversal area between lateral ocellus and compound eye remarkably fine, strongly contrasting with the much coarser punctation of the adjacent parts of vertex and frons; the fine punctation is densest close to the compound eye suggestive of a very shallow and roundish impression. Distance between lateral ocellus and preoccipital ridge almost 3x as long as the ocellar diameter. Thorax: Dorsal, lateral, ventral and posterior part of the thorax as well as legs densely covered with long yellowish-red hairs. Scutum and scutellum very densely punctate with interspaces of usually less than the diameter of half a puncture. Basal zone of the propodeum and hind tibial spurs as in the female. Metasoma: Terga without apical hair bands, covered with a long pilosity that is uniformly yellowish-red on terga 1–2 and completely black on terga 3–7. Punctation of tergal discs rather dense with interspaces varying between the diameter of one half to one and a half, rarely two punctures. Apical margin of tergum 6 very shallowly emarginated medially and with a small basolateral tooth hardly visible due to the dense pilosity. Tergum 7 rectangular, its apical margin truncated. Sternum 2 with a transversal subapical swelling, its apical margin straight. Apical margin of sternum 3 medially with an acute spine, which is about 3x as long as broad. Apical margin of sterna 4–5 distinctly emarginated. Sternum 5 concave and medially with a narrow longitudinal impression, its apical margin with a small triangular incision and beset with dark-brown to light-brown hairs, which increase in length towards the sternal sides. Apical margin of sterna 2–5 with a long yellowish pilosity, which is rather loose and mainly composed of straight hairs on sterna 2–3, but dense and composed of incurved hairs on sterna 4–5. Genitalia as in Fig. 16.
Distribution. Known so far only from northeasternmost Turkey and the Caucasus mountains. Both specimens were found at high elevations indicating that H. caucasicola might be a mountainous species as are many members of the villosa group.
Host plants. To our current knowledge, all species of the villosa group of the subgenus Anthocopa are oligolectic on Asteraceae (Müller, 2012). The only female of H. caucasicola known so far was collected on Cirsium, indicating that this species may be an Asteraceae oligolege as well.
Etymology. caucasicola = living in the Caucasus mountains.
description: Published as part of Müller, Andreas, 2012, New European bee species of the tribe Osmiini (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae), pp. 29-50 in Zootaxa 3355 on pages 40-41, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.281575