Perdita desdemona Portman, sp. n.
Creators: name: Portman, Zachary M.
name: Neff, John L.
name: Griswold, Terry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Andrenidae
Perdita
Perdita desdemona

description: Perdita desdemona Portman, sp. n.
Figs. 20 C, 22B, 24D, 30, 31A
Diagnosis. Male unknown. Female with the metasoma uniformly dark brown (Fig. 20 C). It can be distinguished by the following combination of characters: second submedial cell present, pygidial plate triangular with the apex strongly rounded (Fig. 24 D), and facial markings reduced, limited to transverse paraocular marks (prominent on the paraocular lobes) and a narrow medial line on the clypeus (Fig. 22 D). It is very similar to darker specimens of P. rhodogastra, but P. rhodogastra has the facial markings more extensive and the second submedial cell weakened or absent. Perdita desdemona is also similar to P. vesca, but P. desdemona has the mesosoma with a metallic bluish tint, the legs with well-defined dark marks, the metasoma darker, the head slightly broader, and the pygidial plate slightly broader, whereas P. vesca has the mesosoma with a greenish-bronze tint, legs with nebulous dark marks, the metasoma lighter (and often obscurely spotted), the head only slighter broader than long, and the pygidial plate slightly narrower.
Description of female. Length: 3.1 mm. Forewing length: 1.8 mm.
Coloration. Head (Fig. 22 B) and mesosoma base color black with bluish metallic luster (except slightly greenish metallic around frons); clypeus dark brown with narrow, vertical white stripe medially, stripe sometimes partially reduced; supraclypeal mark dark brown; paraocular mark white, narrowly transverse, more or less limited to paraocular lobe; subantennal mark dark brown; mandible white, tip reddish; labrum dark brown, except lightened to tan along basal margin; scape tan, more or less marked with brown anteriorly; antenna light brown dorsally, tan ventrally; pronotal collar dark brown with slight metallic tints; pronotal lobe light brown on margins; legs brown except tan on joints of fore and mid tibiae and femora, anterior face of fore and mid tibiae, fore and mid tarsi, slightly lightened on joint of hind tibia and hind femur, and distal tarsi; wing veins ranging from tan to brown; metasoma dark brown, except slightly lightened at borders of terga (Fig. 20 C); T2 fovea black; pygidial plate brown.
Structure and vestiture. Head broader than long (Fig. 22 B); lateral areas and circle around antennal socket sparsely covered in recumbent white pubescence, vertex with sparse erect pubescence; eyes subparallel, slightly converging ventrally; facial fovea parallel to eye but slightly diverging dorsally, linear, extending from level of middle of antennal socket 1/2 distance to apex of eye, generally more or less obscured by pubescence; mandible appearing simple (but mandibles largely obscured in existing specimens); labrum quadrate, 1.2X broader than long; disc of clypeus broader than high, strongly convex, apically protruding slightly less than 1 OD from face; lateral extension reaching 1/3 distance to base of mandible; venter of head with abundant inward-facing broadly hooked hairs; mesosoma strongly tessellate, impunctate, slightly shiny; pronotal collar slightly impressed, humeral angle weak; mesepisternum and margins of scutum very sparsely covered by combination of recumbent and erect white pubescence; fore coxa with abundant, broadly hooked hairs; apex of mid tibia with some short, thick, curved setae; forewing with second medial cell present; metasoma oval, narrow basally, tapering apically, widest at T3 (Fig. 20 C); terga tessellate and impunctate; T2 fovea linear, slightly thickened, over 1/2 length of T2; pygidial plate triangular, apex strongly and evenly rounded (Fig. 24 D); hairs of prepygidial fimbria thin, sparse.
Male. Unknown.
Floral records. None.
Phenology. Only collected in May and June.
Distribution. Mojave Desert, USA.
Type material. Holotype data: ♀, CALIFORNIA: San Bernardino Co.: Cronese Dry Lake, 30E (35.1 - 116.26): 31 May 1998, T.L. Griswold (BBSL, accession no. BBSL 289742). Paratype data: (2 ♀) CALIFORNIA: San Bernardino Co.: Granite Cove (34.7818 -115.659): 1 ♀, 3 May 1998, T.L. Griswold; Helendale (34.74387 - 117.32449): 1 ♀, 13 Jun 1979, J.C. Hall (UCRC).
Etymology. The name comes from the character in Shakespeare's Othello. Treat as a noun in apposition.
Remarks. This species is known from only three female specimens. This is surprising since it occurs in the Mojave Desert, and occurs in relatively well-collected areas. One of the females was at UCRC in material determined by Timberlake as P. rhodogastra. Perdita desdemona shares many similarities with P. vesca, but is considered distinct based on its darker coloration, wider head, broader pygidial plate, and larger size. While no floral records are known for this species, two of the females have what appears to be Tiquilia pollen in their scopa and ventral head basket.
description: Published as part of Portman, Zachary M., Neff, John L. & Griswold, Terry, 2016, Taxonomic revision of Perdita subgenus Heteroperdita Timberlake (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), with descriptions of two ant-like males, pp. 1-97 in Zootaxa 4214 (1) on pages 41-43, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4214.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/253086