Epicharis (Epicharitides) Moure 1945
Creators: name: Villamizar, Germán
name: Vivallo, Felipe
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Apidae
Epicharis

description: Key to the species of Epicharis (Epicharitides) Moure, 1945
Females
1. Mesoscutellum with well-defined yellow maculae ........................................................................... 2
– Mesoscutellum dark brown to black, without yellow maculae ........................................................ 6
2. Yellow macula covering entirely the disc of mesoscutellum or most of disc as two elliptical spots; yellow maculae poorly developed or only present on few areas of face (only on lower paraocular area and labrum) ............................................................................................................................... 3
– Yellow macula on posterior margin of mesoscutellum as a longitudinal irregular spot; distinct yellow maculae on many areas of face (mandible, clypeus and paraocular, malar, and supraclypeal areas) ........................................................................................................................................................... 4
3. Metasoma with testaceous to orange pubescence; T2–T5 with yellow maculae as wide spots throughout the discs, narrower on medial area; pubescence of mesepisternum entirely black (Fig. 6) ........................................................................................ Epicharis mesoamericana sp. nov.
– Metasoma with dark brown to black pubescence; T3 and T4 with yellow maculae as irregular spots on lateral sides; pubescence of mesepisternum mostly black with whitish hairs on ventral surface (Fig. 8A–B) ....................................................................................... Epicharis obscura Friese, 1899
4. Metasoma with testaceous to ferruginous pubescence as irregular stripes, without yellow maculae (Fig. 9A–B) ................................................................... Epicharis rufescens Moure & Seabra, 1959
– Metasoma with pubescence predominantly dark brown to black; yellow maculae on T1–T5 ......... 5
5. Lateral sides of T2 with sub-rectangular yellow maculae extending finely towards the disc; maculae on T3–T5 as irregular stripes throughout disc; tegulae reddish and translucent; wing veins reddish brown; pubescence of mesepisternum predominantly whitish (Fig. 2A–B) ...................................... ............................................................................................................. Epicharis duckei Friese, 1901
– Irregular yellow maculae on T2–T5 increasing in size laterally; tegulae and wing veins dark brown; pubescence of metepisternum mostly dark brown to black with whitish hairs on ventral surface (Fig. 4A–B) ....................................................................................................... Epicharis lia sp. nov.
6. Metasoma with mostly yellowish pubescence, without yellow maculae; tegulae and wing veins dark brown; mesoscutellum bilobed in posterior view ............................................................................. 7
– Metasoma with predominantly dark brown to black pubescence, with yellow maculae on lateral sides of T2–T5; tegulae and wing veins reddish brown; mesoscutellum rounded in lateral view ... 8
7. Punctation on paraocular area, frons and vertex fine and scattered, with large impunctated areas; clypeal carinae inconspicuous; supraclypeal area without carina; metasoma dark brown to black with short, sparse and yellowish hairs on T2–T5, denser on lateral sides and towards the distal terga (Fig. 7A–B) .................................................................................... Epicharis minima (Friese, 1904)
– Punctation dense and coarse on paraocular area and vertex, denser on frons; clypeal carinae and supraclypeal area conspicuous; integument of T2–T5 mostly yellow with dense yellow pubescence, except on medial basal margin and medial sides of discs as two deep emarginations (Fig. 5A–B) ... ..................................................................................... Epicharis luteocincta Moure & Seabra, 1959
8. Pubescence of head and mesosoma whitish; malar area sub-rectangular; hind elaiospathe with hook-shaped hairs located posteriorly to primary anterior comb; yellow maculae on face well-developed (Fig. 1A–B) .................................................................................... Epicharis cockerelli Friese, 1900
– Pubescence of head and mesosoma mostly dark brown to black except on propodeum; malar area reduced; hind elaiospathe without hook-shaped hairs; yellow maculae on face less developed (Fig. 3A–B) ....................................................................................... Epicharis iheringi Friese, 1899
Males
* The males of Epicharis lia sp. nov. and E. mesoamericana sp. nov. are unknown.
1. Mesoscutellum with a well-defined yellow macula .......................................................................... 2
– Mesoscutellum dark brown to black, without maculae .................................................................... 4
2. Yellow macula covering completely the disc of mesoscutellum; middle trochanter flattened with a small triangular projection; head and mesosoma with whitish and black hairs intermixed giving a grayish appearance (Fig. 8C–D) ....................................................... Epicharis obscura Friese, 1899
– Yellow macula on posterior margin of mesoscutellum as a longitudinal stripe; middle trochanter conical, without projection; pubescence of head and dorsum of mesosoma mostly yellowish ....... 3
3. Metasoma with testaceous to ferruginous pubescence mainly on distal areas as irregular stripes, without yellow maculae (Fig. 9C–D) ........................... Epicharis rufescens Moure & Seabra, 1959
– Metasoma with yellowish to whitish pubescence and yellow maculae on T2–T6 as wide stripes throughout disc, narrower medially (Fig. 2C–D) ............................... Epicharis duckei Friese, 1901
4. T2–T6 with yellow pubescence and without yellow maculae; tegulae and wing veins dark brown; dorsal surface of hind tibia and basitarsus with yellow pubescence and yellow maculae at the apex ........................................................................................................................................................... 5
– Terga with whitish or black pubescence and yellow maculae as wide stripes on discs of T3–T6; tegulae and wing veins reddish brown; dorsal surface of hind tibia and basitarsus with whitish pubescence, without yellow maculae ............................................................................................... 6
5. Metasoma dark brown to black with short, sparse and yellowish hairs on T2–T6, denser on lateral sides and on distal terga; middle tibial spur leaf-shaped (elongated medially and narrowed at base and apex) (Fig. 7C–D) ................................................................... Epicharis minima (Friese, 1904)
– Integument of T2–T5 mostly yellow with dense yellow pubescence, except on medial basal margin and medial sides of discs as two deep emarginations; spur of middle tibia linear (Fig. 5C–D) ......... ..................................................................................... Epicharis luteocincta Moure & Seabra, 1959
6. Yellow maculae on T1 and T2 as wide stripes throughout the discs, narrower on medial area; lateral distal margins of S2–S4 with short, dense and simple hairs, scattered almost absent towards medial area; hind femur robust; anterior and posterior margins of hind basitarsus curved (Fig. 1C–D) ....... ........................................................................................................ Epicharis cockerelli Friese, 1900
– Yellow maculae on lateral sides of T1 as short stripes; T2 with yellow sub-rectangular spots; distal half of S2–S4 with long, dense and simple hairs curved towards medial area of disc; hind femur slender; anterior and posterior margin of hind basitarsus subparallel (Fig. 3C–D) ............................ ........................................................................................................... Epicharis iheringi Friese, 1899
description: Published as part of Villamizar, Germán & Vivallo, Felipe, 2024, Taxonomic revision of the oil-collecting bee subgenus Epicharis (Epicharitides) Moure, 1945 (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with the description of two new species, pp. 1-61 in European Journal of Taxonomy 928 (1) on pages 43-44, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.928.2477, http://zenodo.org/record/10863898