Austrosphecodes balrog Gonçalves & Pereira 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Gonçalves, Rodrigo Barbosa
name: Pereira, Felipe Walter
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Halictidae
Austrosphecodes
Austrosphecodes balrog

description: Austrosphecodes balrog sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: CF0AD167-C63B-4241-8391-E38D0340A26F
Figs 2, 10A
Diagnosis
The frons sparsely punctate, with variable interspaces among coarse punctures, is a distinctive character for this species; on other examined Austrosphecodes the frons is densely punctate, except near antennal alveoli. The two known females have only two submarginal cells, with a vestige of 1 r-m in the holotype left fore wing. Its females have the T1 mostly impunctate and the anterior surface of the mesoscutum rugulose by crowded punctures, a combination only otherwise found in A. brasiliensis. The body length of more than 7 mm, the mesoscutum disc sparsely punctate and polished, and the scutellum homogeneously rugose easily separate A. balrog sp. nov. from A. brasiliensis. Males not known.
Etymology
A tall and menacing being who can shroud itself in fire, darkness, and shadow, created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The name is used as a proper noun in apposition.
Material examined
Holotype BRAZIL – Paraná • ♀; “DZUP\ 568513” “Brasil, Paraná, 10Km N de\ Bocaiúva do Sul, Santana \ 25 06 S, 49 06W, 900m,\ 12.x.2002, GMelo, L.Zanette \ and AJAguiar ”; deposited in the Coleção Entomológica Pe. Jesus Santiago Moure, Curitiba, Brazil; DZUP 568513.
Paratype BRAZIL – Paraná • 1 ♀; “DZUP\568514” “Brasil, Paraná,\ Rio Capivari, 670m, 25 05S, 48 48W, 22.i.2004, G. Melo ”; DZUP 568514.
Description
Female
MEASUREMENTS. Head width 2.1 mm, length 1.7 mm; intertegular distance 1.3 mm; body length about 5.0 mm.
HEAD. Labrum dark amber to black. Mandible dark amber, darker apex; long setae on outer and ventral margin, more concentrated on base. Clypeus black; sulcate; basal margin arcuate in the middle; loosely punctate to rugose; sparse long decumbent setae on middle; small concentration of long decumbent setae on lateral apexes. Supraclypeal area black; densely punctate (i<pd); dull interspaces; plumose decumbent setae absent in the middle, present on middle of antennae insertions and below antennae. Paraocular area black; densely punctate; dull interspaces; weakly covered with whitish decumbent plumose setae on middle to bottom; upper densely punctate (i<pd) to rugose, punctures almost touching themselves; few short erect setae. Antennae mostly black; brownish on ventral surfaces of flagellomeres; scape long, almost reaching mid ocellus; few erect setae on scape; scape punctate to sparsely punctate, mostly polished; flagellomeres homogeneous covered with short whitish setae. Frons black; densely punctate (i<pd); dull interspaces; sparse long erect setae; weakly depressed above supraclypeal area. Vertex punctate to rugose, rugose-carinate on back of ocelli. Gena imbricate; loosely rugose on lateral view, imbricate; weakly covered with decumbent whitish setae.
MESOSOMA. Pronotum rugose; covered with long whitish setae dorsally; weakly covered with tomentum as seen as lateral view; imbricate near pronotal lobe. Posterior margin of pronotum covered with tomentum. Prosternum black; imbricate; weakly covered with tomentum in the middle. Fore coxa black; dull; imbricate; covered with whitish long setae; trochanter dark amber; imbricate; few setae; femur dark brown on base and lighter on apex; imbricate; sparse erect setae; tibia amber; tibial spur serrate on apex, with one sharp tooth. Mesoscutum black; anterior border rugose; disc punctate (i =pd), polished; median sulcus weak. Mesepisternum black; coarsely rugose, not polished; sparse whitish long setae on lateral view; weakly covered with whitish setae on ventral surface. Mid coxa black; dull; imbricate; covered with whitish long setae; trochanter dark amber; imbricate; few setae; femur dark brown on base and lighter on apex; imbricate; sparse erect setae; tibia amber; one simple tibial spur. Tegula dark amber; concentric lineolate; polished in the middle. Fore wing with 2 submarginal cells. Scutellum black; polished; few sparse punctures on disc. Metanotum black; rugulose; mostly covered with tomentum. Metepisternum rugose and dull; more carinate near tegula; weakly covered with tomentum. Hind coxa black to dark amber; dull; imbricate; presence of long whitish setae; trochanter dark amber; imbricate; few setae; femur dark brown on base and lighter on apex; imbricate; sparse erect setae; tibia amber. Hind wing with five hamuli. Metapostnotum weakly concave; margin rounded; areolate. Latero-dorsal surface gently declivitous, scrobiculate. Propodeum densely covered with tomentum.
METASOMA. T1 amber; puncticulate only in the middle disc, polished on apex and imbricate on base. T2 dark amber; puncticulate on anterior margin to middle; short setae on anterior margin; posterior margin mostly polished. T3 dark amber; imbricate; setae on anterior margin to middle; longer sparse setae on middle; T4 black; imbricate; setae on anterior margin to middle; longer sparse setae on middle. T5 black; mostly imbricate; weakly covered with long setae. S1–S3 amber; imbricate; few sparse setae. S4 black on posterior margin; imbricate; sparse setae. S5–S6 black; imbricate; few sparse long erect setae.
Male
Unknown.
description: Published as part of Gonçalves, Rodrigo Barbosa & Pereira, Felipe Walter, 2022, New species of the cuckoo bee genus Austrosphecodes Michener, 1978 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Sphecodini) and a key for Brazilian species, pp. 55-89 in European Journal of Taxonomy 819 on pages 63-65, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.819.1777, http://zenodo.org/record/6544410