Hoplitis (Micreriades) hispaniae Müller & Wood, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Müller, Andreas
name: Wood, Thomas J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Megachilidae
Hoplitis
Hoplitis hispaniae

description: Hoplitis (Micreriades) hispaniae sp. nov.
Holotype. SPAIN: Almería: Nijar, 36°58'36"N / 2°12'70"W, 19.5.2019, ♂ (leg. J. Smit). Holotype deposited in the Entomological Collection of ETH Zurich.
Paratypes. SPAIN: Almería: Nijar, 36°59'08"N / 2°14'06"W, 22.5.2018, 1♂ (leg. J. Smit); Granada: Sierra Nevada, Capileira to La Cebadilla, 36.9779°N / 3.3548°W, 1500 m, 8.6.2021, 1♂ (leg. T. Wood); Teruel: Noguera de Albarracin, Barranco de la Olmeda, 40.4616°N / 1.6139°W, 25.6.2021, 1♂ (leg. T. Wood). Paratypes deposited in the Entomological Collection of ETH Zurich.
Diagnosis. Hoplitis hispaniae is morphologically very close to H. andalusiae sp. nov. in the female sex and no morphological characters are currently known to separate the females of the two species. Among the European and North African Hoplitis species of the subgenus Micreriades, the females of H. hispaniae and H. andalusiae can be recognised by the following combination of characters: i) head 1.05–1.15× as long as wide; ii) inner margins of compound eyes slightly converging towards clypeus; iii) clypeus basally moderately bulged: in lateral view, transitional zone between bulging part and marginal zone of clypeus straight to very slightly convex; iv) frons between anterior ocellus and antennal sockets with numerous apically wavy to corkscrew-like pollen-collecting hairs, which may be worn off in old individuals; v) punctation of scutum between parapsidal line and median longitudinal furrow rather scattered with interspaces often reaching the diameter of two, rarely more punctures; vi) toothlike projection at apex of tibia of fore leg yellowish-brown; and vii) tibial spurs of middle and hind leg yellowish. The males of H. hispaniae (Fig. 37) are characterised by the following combination of characters: i) head about as long as wide; ii) antennal segment 3 as long as maximally wide; iii) antennal segment 13 cylindrical and apically not distinctly curved downwards; iv) punctation of scutum between parapsidal line and median longitudinal furrow moderately dense with interspaces reaching the diameter of up to one and a half to two punctures; v) apical margin of sternum 3 with dense median patch of long whitish to yellowish hairs distinctly surpassing tergal margin and covering about half of entire sternal width; vi) sternum 6 lateroapically completely plane and without callosities (Fig. 38); vii) sternum 6 medioapically with short, weak and keel-like longitudinal elevation, its apical margin laterally roughly straight and medially emarginate (Fig. 38); and viii) gonoforceps apically rounded rather than truncate and regularly tapering rather than with stepped tip (Fig. 39).
Description. FEMALE: See female description under Hoplitis andalusiae above.
MALE (Fig. 37): Body length 6–7 mm. Head: Head 0.97–1.05× as long as wide. Distance between posterior margin of lateral ocellus and preoccipital margin 1.4–1.5× as long as ocellar diameter. Maximum width of genal area 0.50–0.55× as long as maximum width of compound eye. Second segment of labial palpus 2.1–2.2× as long as first segment and about 0.75× as long as compound eye. Mandible two-toothed and completely black except sometimes for dark reddish preapical zone. Clypeus very finely and densely punctured with only linear interspaces except for narrow marginal zone, which is polished and unpunctured. Apical margin of clypeus medially straight to very shallowly emarginate and inconspicuously crenulate. Lower half of frons, paraocular area, supraclypeal area and clypeus covered with dense yellowish-white pilosity, which is (semi)erect on frons and supraclypeal area and appressed on paraocular area and clypeus. Hypostomal area with rather long and dense whitish pilosity, which increases in length towards foramen magnum. Punctation of frons very dense with interspaces rarely reaching diameter of one puncture. Antenna (dark) brown to black. Antennal segment 3 as long as wide and slightly longer than segment 4, which is slightly shorter than wide, segments 5–11 roughly as long as wide to slightly shorter, segment 12 slightly longer than wide and segment 13 1.75–2.0× as long as wide. Antennal segment 13 cylindrical and apically not distinctly curved downwards. Posterior side of antennal segments 9–13 almost straight in top view. Mesosoma: Parapsidal line long-linear. Punctation of scutum between parapsidal line and median longitudinal furrow moderately dense with interspaces reaching diameter of up to one and a half to two punctures, punctures smaller than those on frons. Punctation of scutellum dense with interspaces rarely exceeding diameter of half a puncture. Punctation of upper part of mesepisternum moderately dense with interspaces reaching diameter of up to one and a half to two punctures, of lower part more scattered. Basal area of propodeum polished except for narrow transverse zone at its base, which is weakly carinate and shagreened. Posterior surface of propodeum adjacent to basal area polished with scattered and fine punctation. Tegula predominantly yellowish-brown. Tibial spur of fore leg yellowish, its apex extended into short tip, which is about as long as basally wide. Toothlike projection at apex of tibia of fore leg yellowish-brown. Tibial spurs of middle and hind leg yellowish, long, slender and almost straight. Veins of fore and hind wing brown to dark brown. Stigma of fore wing brown in centre and dark brown along margins. Metasoma: Punctation of tergal discs 1–5 dense with interspaces varying in size between diameter of less than half a puncture on lateral tergal sides and diameter of one and a half, rarely more punctures on median tergal parts, punctures of about same size as those on scutum. Marginal zones of terga 1–6 reddish. Marginal zones of terga 1–4 with short white hair bands, which are medially interrupted on terga 1–2 and decrease in length and density from tergum 1 to tergum 4 (Fig. 37). Tergum 6 with short lateral tooth, its marginal zone slightly raised. Tergum 7 with roundish median pit at its base and medioapically elongated into narrowly triangular tip. Sternum 1 strongly convex. Sternum 2 mediobasally flat to slightly concave and with distinctly shagreened interspaces between punctures, its apical margin evenly rounded and surpassed by moderately long and sparse white pilosity, which is about as long as hair bands of terga 3–4. Apical margin of sternum 3 medially very shallowly emarginate and with dense patch of whitish to yellowish hairs distinctly surpassing tergal margin and covering almost half of horizontal sternal width. Sternum 4 medioapically distinctly more deeply and slightly more widely emarginate than sternum 3, emargination lined with yellowish-white hairs (Fig. 38), which are similarly long as hair patch of sternum 3. Sternum 5 on marginal zone with rather dense but short and (semi)erect whitish pilosity, its apical margin medially slightly emarginate (Fig. 38). Sternum 6 basally with pair of translucent membraneous flaps, medioapically with short, weak and keel-like longitudinal elevation and lateroapically completely plane without callosities (Fig. 38). Apical margin of sternum 6 laterally straight and medially emarginate (Fig. 38). Gonoforceps apically rounded and evenly tapering, without stepped tip (Fig. 39).
Distribution. Central and southern Spain.
Etymology. The species epithet refers to the occurrence of the species in Spain (lat. “Hispania” = Spain).
description: Published as part of Müller, Andreas & Wood, Thomas J., 2025, Still undescribed bees in Europe-description of nine new European osmiine bee species (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), pp. 83-102 in Zootaxa 5631 (1) on pages 97-99, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5631.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/15326665