Megalopta yanomami Santos & Melo 2014, sp. n.
Creators: name: Santos, L. M.
name: Melo, G. A. R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Halictidae
Megalopta
Megalopta yanomami

description: Megalopta yanomami sp. n.
(Figures 1C, 4A, 5E, 6B, 10C, 12D, 13C, D, 15C)
Diagnosis
Differs from M. piraha by the basal area of metapostnotum with longitudinal rugulosities restricted to mid portion, external rugulosities strongly impressed and forming semicircles, the integument often dark green (Figure 4A); metanotum with contiguous punctation (Figure 5E); T1 densely punctured (<1 pd). The male also differs by the scape uniformly enlarged (Figures 10C, 13C) and by flagellomeres with depressed and glabrous area (Figures 10C, 13D).
Description
Female. (1) Mandible bidentate and with supplementary teeth. (2) Labral elevation with lateral sides slightly raised in relation to central area. (3) Clypeus with surface between punctures on basal and central area smooth. (4) Central portion of supraclypeal area with dense punctation, the punctures separated by <1 pd, except by a small impunctate area in the centre of the lower portion. (5) Antenna reddish brown. (6) Upper frons flat, not strongly declivous toward sulcus around median ocellus. (7) Ocellocular distance smaller than the F1 length. (8) Mesoscutum adjacent to the parapsidial line densely punctured, punctures contiguous, punctation becoming sparser towards mesoscutal lip (<1 pd). (9) Scutellum with posterior margin raised in relation to anterior margin of metanotum. (10) Metanotum with integument, in oblique view, not hidden by short plumose pilosity, with contiguous punctation (Figure 5E). (11) Basal area of metapostnotum metallic green, its length up to 0.7× that of metanotum, with longitudinal rugulosities restricted to central area (Figures 4A, 5E). (12) Mesepisternum with contiguous punctation. (13) Metepisternum with sparse pilosity, integument visible through pilosity; posterior upper margin of metepisternum unmodified, lacking a velvety process (Figure 1C). (14) T1 with dorsal surface of disc with contiguous to dense punctation (<1 pd), posterior marginal zone smooth between punctures. Male. (15) Scape uniformly enlarged (Figures 10C, 13C). (16) Flagellum reddish brown (Figure 10C), F1–F11 not differing in diameter but with depressed and glabrous area in frontal view (Figures 10C, 13D); F2 about as long as F3 (Figure 10C); F6–F11, in anterior view, with the anterior and posterior margins depressed, in posterior view with basal glabrous area at same level of remaining surface. (17) Metanotum with integument, in dorsal view, not hidden by short plumose pilosity. (19) Basal area of metapostnotum dark metallic green, its length up to 0.8× that of metanotum, longitudinal rugulosities strongly impressed and enclosed laterally by two sulci (Figure 12D). (20) Metepisternum. As described for the female. (21) 1st and 2nd tarsomeres of foreleg with longest simple setae shorter than summed length of the three apical tarsomeres. (22) S3 with longitudinal sulcus, posterolateral margin notched. (23) S4 with medial protruding process, profile of process widely triangular in lateral view; basal portion glabrous; posterolateral margin notched, notch not extending to basal half of sclerite.
Measurements
Approximate body length: (11.5–14.2); maximum width of head: (3.5–4.5); intertegular distance: (3.2–4.4); length of forewing with tegula: (10.3–12.3).
Type material
Holotype female (INPA): BRAZIL. Roraima: ‘BRASIL – Roraima \ Rio Uraricoera \ Ilha de Maracá \ 02–13.v.1987 ’ ‘ J.A. Rafael \ J.E.B. Brasil\ L.S. Aquino’ ‘ Armadilha \ de Malaise’. Paratypes (9♀, 4♂): BRAZIL. Pará: ‘Brasil Pará \ Serra Norte \ N1 Est. Serraria \ 6-IX-1983 ’ ‘ Luz U. V.’ ‘ MPEG HYM \ 11005592’ (1♀, MPEG); ‘ Brasil Pará \ Serra Norte \ MANGÂNES\ C/ Luz \ 24-X-1984 ’ ‘ Brasil Pará \ T. Pimentel’ ‘ MPEG HYM \ 11005587’ (1♀, MPEG); ‘ Brasil Pará \ Serra Norte \ MANGÂNES\ COL. NOTURNA\ 06-IX-1985 ’ ‘ Brasil Pará \ Marcio Zanuto’ ‘ MPEG HYM \ 11005600’ (1♀, MPEG); ‘ Brasil Pará \ Serra Norte \ N2 CANGA \ 3-XI-1985 ’ ‘ Brasil Pará \ N. Bittencourt’ ‘ MPEG HYM \ 11005611’ (1♂, MPEG); ‘ Brasil Pará \ Serra Norte \ N1. Col. Luz \ 19-IX-1985 ’ ‘ Brasil Pará \ J. Dias’ ‘ MPEG HYM \ 11005596’ (1♂, MPEG). Roraima: ‘ Brasil, Roraima, Amajari,\ Tepequém, Trilha Igarapé \ da Anta 03°46 ′ 19.7 ″ N’ ‘ 61°45 ′ 21.6 ″ W 649m 14-\ mai-09 11:00 Grigio, Jr. O \ Salicilato’ ‘MIRR 12678’ (1♀, MIRR);‘ BRASIL – Roraima \ Rio Uraricoera \ Ilha de Maracá \ 02–13. v.1987 ’ ‘ J.A. Rafael \ J.E.B. Brasil\ L.S. Aquino’ (4♀, INPA); ‘ Brasil: Roraima \ Rio Uraricoera \ Ilha de Maracá’ ‘ Armadilha \ de Luz’ ‘ 21-30.xi.1987 \ J.A. Rafael e\ equipe’ (1♀, INPA); ‘ Brasil Roraima \ Tepequém \ Pousada SESC \ 03°45 ′ 186 ″ N\ 61°42 ′ 959 ″ W’ ‘ 637m 14/vii.2009 \ M.L. Oliveira, O\ Mielke & M\ Casagrande leg’ (1♂, INPA); ‘ BR RR Uiramutã, Rio Wailã \ 043750/600946\ 22/III/2007 \ F.F. Xavier Filho, col.\ Luz Mista Mercúrio’ (1♂, INPA).
Distribution
BRAZIL. Pará: Parauapebas. Roraima: Amajari, Uiramutã (Figure 15C).
Etymology
The specific epithet honours the ‘Yanomami’, the name for an ethnic group of South American natives, used here as a noun in apposition. The ‘Yanomami’ comprise a society of hunter-agriculturists of the tropical rainforest of northern Amazonia, whose contact with non-indigenous society over most of their territory has been relatively recent. Their territory covers an area of approximately 192,000 km 2, located on both sides of the border between Brazil and Venezuela, in the Orinoco– Amazon interfluvial region (affluents of the right shore of the Rio Branco and left shore of the Rio Negro). The total population of the ‘Yanomami’ in Brazil and Venezuela is today estimated to be around 26,000 people (Albert 1999).
The byroni species group
Diagnosis
The byroni group includes M. atlantica Santos & Silveira, M. guarani sp. n., M. xavante sp. n., M. mapinguari sp. n., M. purpurata Smith, M. karitiana sp. n. and additional species previously placed in the subgenus Megalopta (Noctoraptor) Engel, Brooks and Yanega. It is distinguished from other species groups by the ocellocular distance equal to length of F1 and by the sparsely punctured mesoscutum posteriorly to mesoscutal lip (≥ 1 pd). The female differs from those of other groups by lacking the mandibular subapical and supplementary teeth and the basal macula in the inner surface of the mandible. The male is characterized by the F2 as wide as about twothirds of F3, dorsal surface of flagellomeres flattened to slightly depressed and by the protruding process of S4, in lateral view, digitiform or triangular and short. It is shown here that this group also contains species with a metallic green integument, differing from the previously described dark brown non-metallic species.
Bees in this group are rarely collected and most species are known from single specimens or small series. All known females in the byroni group have a morphology associated with non nest-making, parasitic behaviour. Biani and Wcislo (2007), in their work on M. byroni, consider that this group might behave as obligatory cleptoparasites or social parasites. Taking into consideration that female morphology in this group is more similar to that of macrocephalic females of nest-making species, it is more plausible to believe that they behave as social parasites. Macrocephalic females exhibit dominant queen-like behaviour over the non macrocephalic subordinate females.
description: Published as part of Santos, L. M. & Melo, G. A. R., 2014, Updating the taxonomy of the bee genus Megalopta (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Augochlorini) including revision of the Brazilian species, pp. 575-674 in Journal of Natural History 49 (11) on pages 618-620, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2014.946106, http://zenodo.org/record/4004455