Tetraglossula Ogloblin 1948
Creators: name: Almeida, Eduardo A. B.
name: Gibran, Nadia S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Colletidae
Tetraglossula

description: Tetraglossula Ogloblin, 1948
Type species: Tetraglossula deltivaga Ogloblin, 1948 by original designation.
Distribution (Fig. 19): ARGENTINA (Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Misiones, Tucumán); BOLIVIA (Beni); BRAZIL (Bahia, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Pará, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo); PARAGUAY (Asunción, San Bernardino).
Morphological characters of relevance for the study of Tetraglossula. Bees of this genus have two submarginal cells (Ogloblin 1948, Fig. 3) and body length varies from 6 to 12 mm; these bees are slender in comparison to other neopasiphaeine bees with similar length. Tetraglossula species are morphologically similar, although superficially diverse (Michener 1989, 695), pubescence varying from black or fuscous to light grey, and the integument varying from completely black to bright orange or red on the metasoma of T. fucosa and T. meloi, sp.n. Male genitalia and sterna VI–VIII (Figs 14, 15) overall similar, although continuous shape variation of S6 among the species of Tetraglossula can be noticed (Fig. 14); the curvature of the apical process of S 8 in relation to its disc, as well as the shapes of the S8 lateral process, spiculum, and apodemes also exhibit interspecific variation (Fig. 14). Even though S6 and S 8 may reveal differences among species, those dissimilarities are difficult to define and there seems to be some level on intraspecific variation too. Consistent species delimitation and determination can be most reliably done comparing two features of male S7 (Fig. 14): (a) the shape and relative position of the basal lobe of S7; and (b) the shape of the medial sclerotized region positioned proximally to the apical and basal lobes.
Most of the following additional diagnostic characters for the genus were extracted from Michener (1989, 654–656; for the complete set of characters used to compare the various taxa of Neopasiphaeinae, refer to that work): glossa deeply bifid, lobes acute (Fig. 1; Ogloblin 1948, Fig. 9), 7–10× longer than proximal width. Labial palpus ordinary (Ogloblin 1948, Fig. 1); maxillary palpus long, last or last two palpomeres extending beyond apex of galea (Ogloblin 1948, Fig. 9). Labrum about 6× as wide as long; labral apico-lateral lobes weak in the male, conspicuous and serrate or pectinate in the female (Michener 1989, Fig. 13 G,H). Apical margin of the clypeus of the male is a small median lobe overhanging the labrum. Inner orbits not or very slightly converging below, almost without concave region. Mandible slender in female (Michener 1989, Fig. 13 J), simple and slender in male (Ogloblin 1948, Fig. 8; Michener 1989, Fig. 13 K). Facial fovea shallowly impressed. Ocelli in front of summit of vertex; vertex convex and rounded behind ocelli. Jugal lobe exceeding level of cu-v. Metapostnotum smooth with marginal groove strongly pitted, basal sub-horizontal zone sloping, about as long as metanotum or shorter. Hind tibial inner spur straight or gently curved; inner margin pectinate (Ogloblin 1948, Fig. 4); outer margin serrate, similarly to both margins of outer spur. Scopa on tibia, femur, and distal part of trochanter of sparse simple setae (if plumose, setae with 2–5 branches). The metasomal tergal setal bands absent or weak; metasomal scopa (S2–S5) dense, formed by yellow simple setae. T7 of the male has a triangular, bare pygidial plate, tapering to a narrow rounded apex.
description: Published as part of Almeida, Eduardo A. B. & Gibran, Nadia S., 2017, Taxonomy of neopasiphaeine bees: review of Tetraglossula Ogloblin, 1948 (Hymenoptera: Colletidae), pp. 521-544 in Zootaxa 4303 (4) on pages 525-526, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4303.4.5, http://zenodo.org/record/841526