Heriades cristina Rojas-Arias, Griswold & Ayala. 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Rojas-Arias, Laura
name: Griswold, Terry
name: Hinojosa-Díaz, Ismael
name: Morrone, Juan J.
name: Barajas, Ricardo Ayala
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Megachilidae
Heriades
Heriades cristina

description: Heriades cristina Rojas-Arias, Griswold & Ayala. sp. nov.
(Figs. 2I, 10–11)
Diagnosis. Tergal fasciae with rows of thin, white hairs (Fig. 3L). Male: antenna orange to clear amber, including scape, pedicel and F1 (Fig. 11A); legs yellowish to clear amber; scutum with large punctation (0.3 times OD) (Fig. 11B); S5 with two rounded tufts of capitate hairs directed medially, and simple short hairs towards sides, with transverse, lobed, thin, light, subapical line (Fig. 11E); posterior margin of S6 produced ton obtuse-angled apex, with two subapical tufts of several, short, thin hairs, directed downward (Fig. 11F), similar to H. crucifera, H. texana, and H. leavitti but different in the rest of characters here mentioned. Female: outer surface of mandible without tubercle, clypeus with two tubercles and a soft depression between them, similar to H. leavitti, but differing from this by having apical margin of clypeus with stronger emargination and larger punctures on T3 (0.7 times DOP) with bright integument.
Description. Male: Body length, 5.9 mm (5.3–5.9, n=5); forewing length, 3.7 mm (3.4–3.7, n=5).
Head. Length 1.5 mm (1.5–1.6, n=5), width 1.6 mm (1.5–1.7, n=5); eyes about 3.3 times longer than broad, 1.9 times wider than gena in profile; lower interocular distance 0.8 mm (0.7–0.8, n=5); upper interocular distance 1 mm (0.9–1, n=5); interantennal distance 2.9 times antennocular distance; lateral ocelli large (Fig. 3C), 2.3 times DOP in interocellar area; interocellar distance 1.6 times OD, ocellocular distance 1 time OD, OPR 1 time OD; labrum without elevation; clypeus 1.6 times broader than long, in profile lower half convex and apical margin without emargination; juxtantennal carina absent but strongly angulated; antenna yellow (Fig. 11A); scape length 0.8 times alveolocellar distance, 2.3 times longer than wide; pedicel as long as broad, about 1.5 times longer than F1 and about 0.6 times longer than F2; F1 longer than broad, remaining flagellomeres 2.8 longer than first; F11 dark brown 2.6 times longer than broad. Mesosoma. Scutum 1.9 times longer than scutellum, 3 times longer than tegula, and 3.4 longer than axilla; intertegular distance 1.1 mm (1.1–1.3, n=5); metanotum with transverse ridge, in posterior view straight; propodeum with large pits (Fig. 3I), 0.1 mm long; legs yellow to amber. Metasoma. T1 1.4 mm broad (1.3–1.4, n=5); T3 1.6 mm broad (1.5–1.6, n=5); T6 with posterior margin not projected; posterior margin of S1 produced to median rounded angle, without emargination (Fig. 2 Ib), in profile, with posterior margin projected and low ventral angle more than one third of distance from apex to base (Fig. 2 Ia).
Sculpturing. Clypeus with small (at base 0.1 times OD), almost contiguous, coarse punctures; supraclypeal area with punctures slightly bigger, more rounded than base of clypeus, on frons slightly bigger, coarser and sparser punctures; vertex with bigger, sparser punctures than on supraclypeal area, microreticulate between punctures; hypostomal area with punctation smaller, sparser and less coarse than on clypeus; anterior surface of pronotum with punctures bigger and sparser than on clypeus, in pronotal lobes denser and coarser; disc of scutum with bigger punctures (0.3 times OD) than on vertex, with micropunctures between punctures; rest of mesosoma as on scutum except: scutellum with punctures sparser, mesepisternum with 1-time DOP than punctures on scutum, but sparser towards ventral surface; metepisternum with notably smaller punctures, less dense and coarse; T1 and T2 with smaller (0.2 times OD), denser punctures than on scutum, without micropunctures between punctures; T2 with punctures smaller and sparser than on T1; T3 with smaller and sparser punctures than on T1, slightly rounded to semicircular shaped, separated by more than half DOP; T4 and T5 with bigger, denser and coarser punctures than on T3; dorsal surface of T6 with smaller, irregularly shaped punctures as on T5, on posterior surface with notably smaller and slightly sparser punctation, DBP one half DOP; sides of S1 with punctation bigger and parser than T1, and smaller on medial process of S1; sides of S2 with bigger punctures than on T1 and disc of S2 microreticulate without punctation.
Vestiture. Supraclypeal area with plumose, thin, white, short hairs directed medially; frons with plumose, thin, long, white hairs directed dorsally (Fig. 11A); dorsolateral angles of pronotum with thin, short, scattered, white hairs, not forming continuous, single, linear tuft with hairs on anterior margin of scutum; disc of scutum with simple, thin, short, scattered, white hairs on its entire surface; mesepisternum with plumose, thin, white, scattered hairs, denser on anterior and posterior margins; disc of metepisternum without tuft of thick, short, white hairs; tergal fasciae with row of thick, short, white hairs, decreasing in thickness towards posterior terga; disc of T1 to T6 with simple, long, thin, white hairs in punctures increasing in length towards posterior terga (Fig. 11B).
Terminalia. S6 with an obtuse-angled apex, with two subapical tufts of several, short, thin hairs, directed down, with blackish subapical margin on sides, not connected medially (Fig. 11F); capsule in dorsal view 0.9 mm length, and 0.5 mm width, 2.1 times longer than wide, gonobase 0.07 mm length, 6 times wider than long, and gonocoxite 0.4 mm length, gonostylus 0.9 mm length with rounded apex, penis valve 0.6 mm length (Fig. 11G).
Female: Body length 6.8 mm; forewing length 4 mm. Similar to male except: Head. Length 1.5 mm, width 1.8 mm; eyes about 4.2 times longer than broad, 1.8 times wider than gena in profile; lower interocular distance 0.9 mm; upper interocular distance 1.1 mm; interantennal distance 1.7 times antennocular distance; interocellar distance 1.6 times OD, ocellocular distance 1.3 times OD, OPR 1.4 times OD; labrum with rounded, basal, medial tubercle; dorsal margin of mandible with carina; clypeus with medial emargination and depression, sided by two small tubercles and crenulated on sides of apical margin; scape 3.1 times longer than broad; pedicel 1.1 longer than broad, about 1.1 times longer than F1 and 2.2 longer than F2, remaining flagellomeres 2 times longer than F1. Mesosoma. Scutum 2.9 times longer than scutellum; intertegular distance 1.4 mm. Metasoma. T1 1.5 mm broad. T3 1.8 mm broad.
Sculpturing. Clypeus with medium-sized (0.2 times OD), contiguous, coarse, punctures, shiny and smooth between punctures; supraclypeal area with punctures as on base of clypeus; frons with bigger, coarser and denser with micropunctures between punctures than on supraclypeal area; vertex bigger and coarser punctures than on clypeus, with micropunctures between punctures; gena evenly punctate, bigger and denser than on frons in front of ocelli; scutum with bigger punctures than on vertex; rest of mesosoma as on scutum except: scutellum with slightly sparser punctures; mesepisternum with slightly sparser and irregularly shaped punctures; metasomal terga bright, microreticulate between punctures; T1 with smaller (0.11 times OD), slightly denser punctures than on scutum, with rounded shape; T2 with smaller, sparser than on T1, semicircular shaped punctures; T3 with punctures bigger (0.7 times DOP), notably less coarse, than on scutum, semicircular shaped, and sparser (1 time DOP); dorsal surface of T6 with smaller, denser, and more coarsely punctures than on T5; sterna with punctation smaller and sparser than on scutum.
Vestiture. Sides of clypeus with plumose, white, hairs; disc of clypeus and frons with simple, short, white hairs in punctures (Fig. 11C); disc of T1 to T6 with hairs increasing in length towards posterior terga; posterior margin of T6 with transverse tuft of short, whitish hairs.
Type material: Holotype male (SEMC1387972): MEXICO: Celestún, [3 m, 20°51’33”N 90°23’50”W], 26/ III/1996, R. Tut (KUNHM-ENT). Allotype (SEMC1387971): MEXICO: Yucatán, Yokdzonot, [24 m, 20°42’33”N 88°43’53”W], 25/IV/1996, K. Tibbo (KUNHM-ENT). Paratypes: MEXICO: Yucatán, Celestún, [3 m, 20.859304 -90.397205], 26/03, 16/IV, 07/V, 10, 18/VI, 10/VII/1996, A. Canto, C. Navarro, F. León, H. Contreras, H. Navarro, L. Novelo, R. Rodriguez, R. Tut, S. Noreña (CER-UADY 23♀ 10♂). [Mérida], El Cuyo, [6 m, 21.515833 -87.678333], 24/V/1995, H. Moo, R. Tut (CER-UADY 7♀ 2♂). Yokdzonot, [24 m, 20°42’33”N 88°43’53”W], 25/IV/1996, K. Tibbo (KUNHM-ENT 1♀).
Additional material examined: MEXICO: Chiapas, Comitán, 16miNW, [1694 m, 16°16’26”N 92°07’53”W], 3/VIII/1952, E. E. Gilbert, C. D. MacNeil (BERK 2♀). Tabasco, Comalcaco, 17 m, 18.30629 -93.26, 13 m, 23/ VI/2015, N. Arnold, 14/III/2018, A. Tapia (ECOAB 3♂).
Distribution. This species is present in the Yucatán Peninsula, Tabasco, and Chiapas, being endemic to Mexico, in the Yucatán Peninsula and Veracruzan biogeographic provinces (Morrone et al. 2022) (Fig. 10). Altitudinal range: sea level to 1694 m.
Etymology. This species is dedicated to M. Sc. Cristina Mayorga, who contributed greatly to the taxonomy of Hemiptera of Mexico and serves as a technician of the National Collection of Insects CNIN of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Comments. The DBP on supraclypeal area of males vary from 0.25 to 0.17. The length and number of hairs on scape in males also vary from short and scarce to long and dense. This species can be easily recognized by large punctures on scutum. Males by yellow antennae and dense number of hairs on hypostomal area, clypeus and fore tarsal segments.
description: Published as part of Rojas-Arias, Laura, Griswold, Terry, Hinojosa-Díaz, Ismael, Morrone, Juan J. & Barajas, Ricardo Ayala, 2025, Neotropical bees of the genus Heriades Spinola, 1808 (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae: Osmiini) with description of nine new species, pp. 201-259 in Zootaxa 5570 (2) on pages 220-223, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5570.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14734877