Andrena (Graecandrena) volkoides WOOD, 2024, spec. nov.
Creators: name: WOOD, T. J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Andrenidae
Andrena
Andrena volkoides

description: Andrena (Graecandrena) volkoides spec. nov.
Figures 66A–C; E–F; 67A–E; G.
HOLOTYPE: TURKEY: Urfa [Şanlıurfa], Ceylanpinar [Ceylanpınar], 36.8584 oN, 40.0383 oE, 24.iv.1976, ♂, leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM.
PARATYPES: ISRAEL: Mishmar HaNegev, 1♂, leg. Bytinski-Salz, OÖLM; KKL Park Sayeret Shaqed, 19.iii.2022, 1♀, leg. G. Pisanty, SMNHTAU; Gilat Research Center, 2.iii.2022, 1♀, leg. G. Pisanty, SMNHTAU; Tel Qeriyyot, 27.iii.2015, 1♀, leg. G. Pisanty, SMNHTAU; Devira, 12.iv.2009, 1♂, leg. L. Friedman, SMNHTAU; Shivta, 17.iii.1977, 1♂, A. Freidberg, SMNHTAU; Tel Yeroham, 25.iii.1959, 4♂, leg. J. Kugler, SMNHTAU; JORDAN: Amman, 26.iii.1986, 1♂, leg. M. Kraus, OÖLM; SYRIA: Damascus Airport, 29.iii.1988, 1♂, leg. M. Blank, OÖLM; Homs E 20 km, 400 m, 1.iv.1988, 2♂, 1♀, leg. S.M. Blank, OÖLM; Homs, 250 m, As-Shuknah, 22 km E, 24.iii.1988, 2♂, leg. L. Blank, OÖLM; TURKEY: Harran / Urfa, 19–26.iv.1976, 47♀, leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM/ TJWC; Urfa, 10 km N Ceylanpinar, 25.iv.1976, 1♀, leg. K. Warncke, OÖLM; Urfa, Ceylanpinar, 24– 25.iv.1976, 6♂, 14♀, OÖLM/ TJWC; WEST BANK: Jericho, 22.ii.1931, 1♂, leg. S.G. Bodenheimer, OÖLM; Za’atara, 6.iii.2015, 1♀, leg. T. Jumah, SMNHTAU.
Description: Female: Body length: 6–6.5 mm (Figure 66A). Head: Dark, 1.2 times wider than long (Figure 66C). Clypeus domed, irregularly and shallowly but clearly punctate, punctures separated by 1–3 puncture diameters, underlying surface with regular granular shagreen, weakly shining. Process of labrum trapezoidal, 2 times wider than long, apical margin truncate, surface shining. Gena subequal to width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance ⅔ diameter of lateral ocellus. Foveae dorsally narrow, occupying ⅓ space between compound eye and lateral ocellus, slightly narrower than width of flagellum, ventrally narrowing slightly at level of antennal insertions; foveae filled with light brown hairs. Face, gena, vertex, and scape covered with short to moderately long whitish hairs, none equalling length of scape. Antennae basally dark, A5–12 ventrally lightened by presence of orange scales. A3 exceeding A4, slightly shorter than A4+5.
Mesosoma: Scutum and scutellum with fine regular granular shagreen, moderately shining, surface irregularly punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–2 puncture diameters, sparsest medially (Figure 66B). Pronotum rounded. Mesepisternum with fine granular shagreen, weakly shining. Dorsolateral parts of propodeum with granular microreticulation, sculpture overlain by weak network of raised rugosity, surface weakly shining. Propodeal triangle broad, lacking lateral carinae, internal surface with coarse granular microreticulation, weakly shining, basally with network of short raised rugae; propodeal triangle thus defined by change in surface sculpture (Figure 66E). Mesepisternum with moderately long white hairs, becoming shorter on scutum and scutellum, here light brown, scattered, densely plumose and sub-squamous. Propodeal corbicula incomplete, weakly produced, dorsal fringe composed of plumose white hairs, internal surface with occasional white hairs. Legs dark, basitarsi reddish brown, remaining tarsal segments lightened orange, pubescence whitish to light brown. Flocculus incomplete, composed of plumose white hairs; femoral and tibial scopae composed of simple white hairs. Hind tarsal claws with small inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma and venation orange, nervulus strongly antefurcal.
Metasoma: Tergal discs dark, apical margins broadly lightened hyaline white-orange (Figure 66F). Tergal discs with regular granular microreticulation, sculpture strongest basally, becoming weaker on apical terga, surface weakly shining, impunctate. T2–4 with apical hairbands, hairbands long, exceeding length of terga, composed of white hairs, obscuring underlying surface; hairbands more or less complete T2–4. Apical fringe of T5 and hairs flanking pygidial plate golden-white. Pygidial plate triangular with narrowly rounded apex, surface predominantly flattened with slight subapical bulge, with obscure fine shagreen, dull.
Male: Body length: 4.5–5.5 mm (Figure 67A). Head: Dark, 1.25 times wider than long (Figure 67B). Clypeus weakly domed, almost entirely yellow-marked with exception of two small triangular marks medially; underlying surface smooth and shiny, superficially punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–1 puncture diameters. Process of labrum trapezoidal, 2 times wider than long, anterior margin truncate, humped, medially emarginate. Gena subequal to width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance ½ diameter of lateral ocellus. Face, gena, vertex, and scape with long white hairs, longest exceeding length of scape.Antennae basally dark, A4–13 extensively lightened ventrally be presence of orange scales; A3 exceeding A4, shorter than A4+5, A4 subquadrate, wider than long, A5–13 quadrate to slightly longer than wide.
Mesosoma: Mesosoma structurally as in female (Figure 67C), covered with long white hairs.
Metasoma: Terga structurally as in female (Figure 67D). T1–4 apically with dense white hairbands, complete in fresh individuals, obscuring underlying surface. T6–7 with long white hairs overlying pygidial plate of T7. S8 columnar, more or less parallel-sided, apex truncate, ventral surface with fan of short light brown hairs (Figure 67E). Genital capsule long, gonocoxae apically produced into weak rounded points, gonostyli elongate, apical portion long, flattened, and spatulate, inner margin raised, weakly blade-like (Figure 67G). Penis valves basally broad, occupying ½ space between gonostyli, evenly tapering apically.
Diagnosis. Andrena volkoides can be recognised as a Graecandrena due to its small body size, predominantly dark integument, propodeal triangle lacking lateral carinae, internal surface with granular microreticulation and weak but clearly present raised rugae basally, female hind tarsal claws with small inner tooth, and female foveae narrow, but not strongly narrowing ventrally or becoming linear. The male clypeus is yellow (Figure 67B) which is unusual for the subgenus, but the combination of yellow male clypeus, large elongate genital capsule, female clypeus domed, evenly rounded, and punctate place it close to A. volka Warncke, 1969 which can be confidently placed in the true Graecandrena based on phylogenetic analysis (Pisanty et al. 2022b).
As females are similar, diagnosis is best made to males first. Male A. volkoides can be recognised by the antennae which have A4–13 strongly and extensively lightened orange ventrally (Figure 67B; in A. volka with the antennae ventrally dark brown at most), S8 narrow and columnar, with the apex only very slightly broadened if at all (Figure 67E; in A. volka with S8 strongly broadened apically, triangular, clearly more than 2 times broader apically than basally, Figure 67F), and with the tergal margins broadly lightened hyaline-white, with dense apical hairbands that (in fresh specimens) are more or less as wide as the tergal margins (in A. volka with the tergal margins only narrowly lightened hyaline-brown, with only weak scattered hairs on the tergal margins, not forming hairbands).
Identification of females should be made through comparison with confidently determined A. volka material as some structural differences are subtle. Female A. volkoides can be separated by the shape of the head which in frontal view has the outer margin of the compound eyes more strongly converging ventrally (Figure 66C; in A. volka comparatively more rounded, Figure 66D), by the supraclypeal area which is almost flattened (in A. volka weakly domed), by the comparatively more strongly punctate clypeus, with punctures clearly visible against the underlying sculpture (in A. volka with clypeal punctures somewhat disappearing into underlying sculpture), and by the terga that have their apical margins broadly lightened hyaline white-orange, with long dense apical hairbands that obscure the underlying surface (in A. volka with the tergal margins only narrowly lightened hyaline brown, with only scattered hairs on the apical margins that do not obscure the underlying surface.
Remarks. Based on the distribution, A. volkoides appears to live in much drier habitats than A. volka, which is found in the Mediterranean habitat zone between south-western Turkey (Adana, locus typicus) and central Israel. Andrena volkoides is therefore present to the east and south of this distribution. The distribution map presented by Gusenleitner & Schwarz (2002) contains a cluster of dots in southern Turkey and northern Syria; it is possible that these represent A. volkoides, and not true A. volka. All material identified as A. volka by Warncke (the original creator of this distribution map) must be carefully revised.
Etymology. From the species volka combined with the suffix -oides, indicating close proximity.
Distribution. Southern Turkey (province of Şanlıurfa), Syria, Jordan, and Israel and the West Bank.
description: Published as part of WOOD, T. J., 2024, Further revisions to the Palaearctic Andrena fauna (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), pp. 1-150 in Zootaxa 5483 (1) on pages 106-109, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5483.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13209307