Sphecodopsis albomaculata Pöllein & Kuhlmann, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Pöllein, Daniela
name: Kuhlmann, Michael
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Apidae
Sphecodopsis
Sphecodopsis albomaculata

description: Sphecodopsis albomaculata sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 4D1599C8-CB64-47F9-B11C-F0A8DD1C5FC0
Figs 1–2
Diagnosis
The female of S. albomaculata sp. nov. is unknown. The male can be separated from that of all other species of this genus by the combination of the following characters: metasomal terga T1–T3 red (Fig. 1B); fore legs usually black (Fig. 1A); head and mesosoma with black hair, mixed with lighter hair (Fig. 1C); mesoscutum densely, coarsely and deeply punctate, matt or slightly shiny (Fig. 1D); metapostnotum twice as high as wide (Fig. 1E); propodeum covered with white plumose hair mixed with at least a few black hairs (Fig. 1E); gonostylus approximately the same length as gonocoxa (Fig. 2C–D) and with a bump dorsally (Fig. 2D).
Etymology
The name refers to the white hair patches on the legs.
Type material (1 specimen)
Holotype
SOUTH AFRICA • ♂; C.P., Piketberg, Banghook, 32180A; [32°50′ S, 18°40′ E]; 20 Sep. 1991; VBW leg.; SANC.
Description
Female
Unknown.
Male
BODY LENGTH. 8.5 mm.
HEAD. Head distinctly wider than long. Vertex almost straight and flat, except for the ocelli. Integument black, except part of mandibles reddish-brown. Face covered with long, black hair mixed with shorter, yellowish-white hair around antenna. Face and clypeus with fairly dense (i=0–0.25 d), coarse and deep punctation, except supraclypeal area with more dispersed (i= 0.5–1 d) punctation (Fig. 1C). Surface between punctures slightly matt. Antenna black.
MESOSOMA. Integument black, tegula dark brown to black. Mesoscutum slightly shiny. Mesoscutum, mesoscutellum and propodeum densely (i= 0.25–0.5 d), coarsely and deeply punctate, metapostnotum matt (Fig. 1D–E). Mesoscutum, mesoscutellum, metanotum and mesepisternum sparsely covered with long, black, erect hair mixed with shorter, white hair (Fig. 1D). Propodeum covered with short, white hair and few long, black hairs, metapostnotum without hair (Fig. 1E).
WINGS. Fuscous; wing venation dark brown and stigma dark brown to black (Fig. 1A).
LEGS. Integument black. Coxa and trochanter sparsely covered with long, black hair and shorter white hair. Femur with few long, black hair. Tibia and tarsi covered with short black and white hair. Patches of very dense white pubescence apically on the tibia, on middle and hind tibia, anterior leg generally less hairy (Fig. 1A).
METASOMA. Integument of T1 dark basally. Rest of T1–T3 red, T4–T7 black. T1–T3 sparsely covered with short white and black hair, from T4 increasingly more and longer hair (Fig. 1B). T4–T6 marginal zone with white hair, disc with long, black hair. T7 covered with short, white and gold hair, only few longer, black hairs (Fig. 1F).
TERMINALIA. Genitalia (Fig. 2C–D), S7 (Fig. 2A) and terminal plate of S8 (Fig. 2B) as illustrated.
Distribution
Only known from the type locality.
Host bees
Unknown.
Seasonal activity
September.
description: Published as part of Pöllein, Daniela & Kuhlmann, Michael, 2025, Taxonomic revision of the southern African bee genus Sphecodopsis Bischoff, 1923 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Nomadinae), pp. 1-157 in European Journal of Taxonomy 980 on pages 5-7, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2025.980.2805, http://zenodo.org/record/14981767