Ceratina (Zadontomerus) indigovirens Florez-Gomez, Ayala & Hinojosa-Diaz 2022, new species
Creators: name: Flórez-Gómez, Nathalia
name: Ayala, Ricardo
name: Hinojosa-Díaz, Ismael
name: Morrone, Juan J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Apidae
Ceratina
Ceratina indigovirens

description: Ceratina (Zadontomerus) indigovirens Flórez-Gómez, Ayala & Hinojosa-Díaz new species
(Figures 19, 20, 22J, 23K, 24J, 27)
Diagnosis: Body size of females and males from 5.5–7.0 mm; dark blue head and mesosoma with metallic tints, contrasting the metasoma, which is green metallic or sometimes copper metallic, wings smoked with dark brown venation. Females with lower paraocular area with dense punctures, upper paraocular area and frons with dispersed punctures separated by a distance up to twice a puncture diameter; disc of scutum polished and impunctate. Male hind trochanter with dense and long pubescence, reaching the basal half of the hind femur; hind femur medially dilated (Fig. 22J); and posterior margin of T7 with two laminar projections forming a medial notch (Fig. 23K).
Females can be similar to C. ignara; however, this species can be recognized by the shape of the metasoma, that generally its length is less than twice the width, while in C. ignara the metasoma is longer. Males of both species are easily distinguishable because C. indigovirens do not have paraocular marks, while C. ignara do.
Description. Holotype male. Length 6.13 mm. Head and mesosoma dark metallic blue, mesosoma green with metallic tints, copper in some paratypes.
Head. Mandibles black with two teeth, dark brown and medial area lighter, outer margin with whitish scattered hairs. Labrum with medial yellow mark, reaching upper and lower margins. Clypeus with an inverted T-shaped yellow mark, coarse punctures surrounding this mark. Eyes strongly convergent below. Paraocular area and frons, with dense punctures, separated by a distance up to a puncture diameter. Vertex densely punctate, with long, whitish, scattered pubescence. Gena with punctures as vertex, lower area with long and scattered pubescence. Preoccipital margin carinate, slightly more evident than in female. Antennae dark brown. Head length 1.53 mm; head width 1.67 mm; lower interocular distance 0.83 mm; upper interocular distance 1.08 mm; ocellocular distance 0.31 mm.
Mesosoma. Pronotum with lateral carina, dorsolateral angle rounded, pronotal lobe with scattered whitish pubescence. Mesepisternum with long dispersed whitish hairs, densely punctate, separated by a distance equal to the diameter of one puncture, becoming sparser below; hypoepimeral area, upper region with fine and dense punctures, lower area next to the episternal scrobe impunctate. Scutum, anterior area, between notauli, with dense punctures, separated by up to a puncture diameter, disc impunctate and polished. Scutellum with dense punctures, becoming more widely separated on the disc. Propodeal triangle striate. Propodeum, lateral areas with fine and close punctures, long and scattered white pubescence. Tegula dark brown. Wings smoked, darker at the apex. Length of forewing 4.88 mm. Scutum length 1.01 mm; scutum width 1.15 mm. Legs. Hind trochanter, ventral margin with long and dense whitish pubescence. Hind femur with rounded medial dilation; ventral margin, basal half with long and dense whitish pubescence (Fig. 22J).
Metasoma. T1 polished, disc with small area of fine and closely spaced punctures. T2 and T3 with dense punctation on lateral areas, disc with few punctures and large impunctate areas. T4 densely punctate, becoming more dispersed on the disc; posterior margin with short and whitish hairs, thick and thin hairs intercalated. T6, middle area with tuft of brownish pubescence. T7, apex with two laminar projections forming a medial notch (Fig. 23K). S6, as shown in Figure 24J. Genital capsule as shown in the Fig. 20.
Paratype female. Length 6. 82 mm. Color as male.
Head. Mandibles with three teeth, color as males. Labrum black covered by sparse whitish pubescence. Hypostomal carina with an anterior tooth. Clypeus with medial yellow mark, punctures as male. Supraclypeal area with dense punctures between antennal sockets, medial area with dispersed, irregularly distributed punctures. Eyes with inner margin slightly convergent below. Lower paraocular and antennocular areas densely punctate, separated by a distance less than puncture diameter. Upper paraocular area, vertex and frons, around the impunctate swellings, separated by a distance of up to twice a puncture diameter. Preoccipital margin carinate. Gena with area adjacent to eye polished and impunctate, reaching 1/3 of genal area; upper area densely punctate, punctures becoming sparser below; with sparse, short, whitish hairs. Antennae as in male. Head length 1.7 mm; head width 1.86 mm; lower interocular distance 1.06 mm; upper interocular distance 1.16 mm; ocellocular distance 0.34 mm.
Mesosoma. Pronotum and mesepisternum as male. Scutum, anterior area between notauli with disperse punctures, separated by a distance of two to three times puncture diameter, disc of scutum impunctate, posterior area with close punctures. Scutellum, propodeum and tegula as males. Wings smoked. Length of forewing 5. 1 mm. Scutum length 1.03 mm; scutum width 1.26 mm. Legs. Dark blue metallic tones. Tibia base with yellow spot. Tarsi dark brown. Spurs whitish. Metasoma. T1-T4 as males. T5 and T6 rugose, with scattered yellowish pubescence.
Type material: Holotype (♂ ECOAB: 16902): MEXICO: Chiapas: Jitotol, El Ocotal, 1692 m, 17. 059, -92. 857, 13-III/ 4-IV-2009, J. Mérida, P. Sagot. Described paratype (♀ ECOAB: 18893): same locality as holotype. Other paratypes: same locality as holotype (♀ ECOAB: 18901, ♂ ECOAB, 16901).
Material examined: MEXICO. Chiapas: Acacoyagua, 596 m, 15.445, -92.700, 2-10-XI-2005, M. Guzmán (ECOAB: 3♀: 18449, 53008, 53010). Bochilla Yerbabuena, 1653 m, 16.918, -92.917, 4-XII-2016, P. Sagot (ECOAB: 1♀: 66987). Jitotol, El Ocotal, 1692 m, 17.059, -92.857, 13/III-4/IV- 2009, J. Mérida & P. Sagot (ECOAB: 22♀: 17642, 18821, 18822, 18831, 18842, 18844, 18846, 18847, 18851, 18853, 18854, 18855, 18856, 18858, 18911, 18913, 18915, 18923, 18891, 18892, 18893, 18901. 6♂: 18837, 18914, 18909, 18884, 16904). La Trinitaria, Unión Juárez, 1695 m, 16.110, -91.927, 6-VII-2012 (ECOAB: 1♂: 56117). Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, Pueblo Nuevo Sol, 1792 m, 17.174, -92.916, 11 -VII- 2012, J. Mérida (ECOAB: 4♀: 52997, 52998, 53000, 53001). Tenejapa, Tzaquiviljok, 1483 m, 16.861, - 92.464, 5-IV-2009, J. Mérida (ECOAB: 1 ♀: 16816). Unión Juárez, Carretera Finca Muxbal, 1444 m, 15.077, -92.071, 18-XII-2009, J. Mérida (ECOAB: 2♂: 16835, 16837). Hidalgo: Tulancingo de Bravo, El Paraíso, 2185 m, 20.15, -98.4, 12-IV- 1993, M. Díaz Batalla (MZFC: 1♀: 12091). Michoacán: Dr. Miguel Silva, 9 km S Ario de Rosales, 1450 m, 29-X-1987, T. Griswold (BBSL: 1♀, 1♂). Morelos: Tepoztlán, km 4.5 Autopista México-Cuautla, 1940 m, 19.0041, -99.1294, 16-III-1996, O. Yáñez (MZFC: 2♀: 3826, 4331); km 12 Autopista México-Cuautla, 1650 m, 18.973, -99.0825, 8-VIII-1997, I. Hinojosa (MZFC: 4♀: 3327, 2079, 2292, 2127). Huitzilac, Derrame del Chichinautzin km 85.8, 2440 m, 19.023, -99.1494, 6-IV-1997, I. Hinojosa (MZFC: 2♀: 6035, 6139). Cuernavaca, 20-XI-1987, F. Parker (BBSL: 5♀, 1♂). Oaxaca: Santa María Yavesía, 2013 m, 17.264, -96.436, 15-XII-2015, N. Arnold (ECOAB: 2♂: 72093, 72106). Santa María Yucuhiti, San José Zaragoza, 1512 m, 16.985, -97.795, 5-XI-2015, N. Arnold (ECOAB: 1♂: 75375). Santiago Comaltepec, 1997 m, 17.565, - 96.549, 16-XII-2015, J. Mérida (ECOAB: 1♂: 72125). Cuyotepeji, 3-III-1972, F. Parker (BBSL: 18♀, 2♂). Puebla: Tepexi de Rodríguez, 18-I-1991, R. Ayala (MZFC: 1♀: 26969). Veracruz: Teocelo, 26-VIII-1989, M. Tloltzin (MZFC: 1♀: 26968).
Distribution: Ceratina (Z.) indigovirens is found in the mountain areas of Mexico in the Transmexican Volcanic Belt, Sierra Madre del Sur, Sierra Madre Oriental and Chiapas Highlands, ranging from 550 to 2500 m elevation. It is found in the states of Chiapas, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla and Veracruz, presumably associated to pine-oak and mountain cloud forests.
Etymology: The specific name refers to the contrasting blue and green coloration on this bee.
description: Published as part of Flórez-Gómez, Nathalia, Ayala, Ricardo, Hinojosa-Díaz, Ismael & Morrone, Juan J., 2022, The Neotropical Species Of Small Carpenter Bees Of The Subgenus Ceratina (Zadontomerus) Ashmead, 1899 (Hymenoptera: Apidae), pp. 189-223 in Zootaxa 5214 (2) on pages 213-221, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5214.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/7384856