Hoplitis (Hoplitis) cretensis 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 cretensis

description: Hoplitis (Hoplitis) cretensis sp. nov.
Holotype. GREECE: Crete: Ida mountains, 2100 m, 14.6.1976, ♀ (leg. K. Warncke). Holotype deposited in the Entomological Collection of ETH Zurich.
Paratype. GREECE: Crete: Ida mountains, Ebriskos, 10 km S Anogia, 15.6.2003, 1♀ (leg. W.H. Liebig). Paratype deposited in the Entomological Collection of ETH Zurich.
Diagnosis. Hoplitis cretensis is a member of the Hoplitis (Hoplitis) adunca species group as shown by the presence of a submarginal carina on sternum 6 in the female sex. Among the European and North African representatives of the H. adunca group, the females of H. cretensis (Fig. 21) can be recognized by the following combination of characters: i) body length 6.5–7 mm; ii) punctation of lateral part of clypeus with distinct polished interspaces (Fig. 22); iii) clypeus with unpunctured and usually uninterrupted longitudinal midline, which extends almost till clypeal apex and whose maximum median width reaches diameter of up to two or three punctures (Fig. 22); iv) punctation of supraclypeal area scattered with interspaces reaching diameter of up to three punctures medioapically (Fig. 22); v) proboscis not reaching trochanter of hind leg in repose, second segment of labial palpus about 1.5–1.6× as long as first segment and distinctly shorter than maximum length of mesosoma measured in lateral view; vi) galea of proboscis and clypeus normally haired, without specialised and apically curved or wavy pollen-harvesting bristles; vii) apical tooth of tibial spur of fore leg apically more or less rounded to obtuse rather than sharply pointed; viii) longest erect hairs on median half of tergum 1 distinctly shorter than maximum length of lateral hair tuft when seen from behind; and ix) sternum 6 lateroapically with very strong submarginal carina, its apical margin medially elongated into distinct and well delimited tooth (Fig. 24). In the key to the European species of the Hoplitis adunca species group (Müller 2016), the female of H. cretensis keys out at couplet 9 together with H. fabrei Zanden, 1987 and H. pallicornis (Friese, 1895). In addition to the smaller size (character i), the usually longer length and larger width of the clypeal midline (character iii) and the more scattered punctation of the supraclypeal area (character iv), H. cretensis differs from these two related species by the shape of the clypeus, which is more strongly convex in lateral view and apically more abruptly bent towards the clypeal margin (Fig. 23). The male of H. cretensis is unknown.
Description. FEMALE (Fig. 21): Body length 6.5–7 mm. Head: Head 1.0–1.1× as long as wide. Distance between posterior margin of lateral ocellus and preoccipital margin about 1.9× as long as ocellar diameter. Maximum width of genal area about 0.7–0.8× as long as maximum width of compound eye. Second segment of labial palpus 1.5–1.6× as long as first segment and 0.7–0.8× as long as compound eye. Mandible three-toothed and blackish except for dark reddish mandibular teeth. Clypeus strongly convex, distinctly surpassing supraclypeal area in lateral view and abruptly bent towards clypeal margin in its apical third (Fig. 23). Punctation of lateral part of clypeus with interspaces reaching diameter of up to one puncture (Fig. 22). Clypeus with unpunctured longitudinal midline, which extends almost till clypeal apex and whose maximum median width reaches diameter of up to two or three punctures (Fig. 22). Punctation of supraclypeal area scattered with interspaces reaching diameter of up to three punctures medially, punctures slightly smaller than those on clypeus (Fig. 22). Apical margin of clypeus straight and with 7–8 minute teeth. Pilosity of paraocular area, supraclypeal area and lower frons white, moderately dense and weakly appressed to erect. Clypeal disc sparsely covered with long and erect white hairs. Clypeal margin ciliated with yellowish-white hairs, which are up to half as long as clypeal length (Fig. 22). Punctation of frons very dense with interspaces not exceeding diameter of half a puncture except for two small areas in front of lateral ocelli, where interspaces may reach diameter of up to one and a half to two punctures. Punctures on frons slightly smaller than those on clypeus. Antenna blackish except for anterior surface of segments (4)5–11(12), which is reddish-brown. Antennal segments 3 and 12 about 1.5× as long as wide and segments 4–11 shorter than wide. Mesosoma: Parapsidal line long-linear. Punctation of scutum and scutellum very dense with interspaces exceeding diameter of one puncture only medially on scutellum, punctures of about same size as those on frons. Punctation of mesepisternum slightly more scattered than that of scutum with interspaces varying in size between diameter of half a puncture to diameter of one and a half punctures. Basal area of propodeum shagreened throughout. Posterior surface of propodeum adjacent to basal area shagreened to almost polished with very sparse and fine punctation. Tegula yellowish to yellowish-brown in its posterior half. Tibial spur of fore leg yellowish, its apex extended into tip, which is slightly longer than basally wide and apically more or less rounded to obtuse rather than sharply pointed. Tibial spurs of middle and hind leg yellowish, long, slender and almost straight. Pilosity on inner side of basitarsus of hind leg yellowish. Veins of fore and hind wing light brown to dark brown. Stigma of fore wing dark brown with slightly lighter centre. Metasoma: Punctation of tergal discs 1–4 rather fine and very scattered with interspaces varying in size between diameter of up to one puncture on tergal sides and diameter of up to several punctures on median tergal parts, punctures much smaller than those on scutum. Punctation of tergum 5 denser than on preceding terga with interspaces reaching diameter of two to three punctures. Punctation of tergum 6 very dense with interspaces hardly exceeding diameter of half a puncture. Terga 1–3(4) predominantly polished, terga (4)5–6 shagreened. Longest erect hairs on median half of tergum 1 distinctly shorter than maximum length of lateral hair tuft when seen from behind. Marginal zones of terga 1–5 inconspicuously dark reddish and with short white hair bands (Fig. 21), which may be medially interrupted in worn specimens. Tergum 6 rather densely covered with appressed white pilosity largely hiding cuticular surface. Sternum 6 lateroapically with very strong submarginal carina, its apical margin medially elongated into distinct and well delimited tooth of narrowly triangular shape (Fig. 24). Scopa white, on sternum 2 basally greyish (Fig. 21).
Distribution. Ida mountains on Crete.
Pollen hosts. Unknown.
Nesting biology. Unknown.
Etymology. The species epithet refers to the occurrence of the species on Crete.
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 91-92, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5631.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/15326665