A new subgenus of Coelioxys Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae) from India

4 Pages·1991·2.5 MB·

by  Rajiv K Gupta

:
NEW DESCRIPTION2S 425
A NEW SUBGENUS OF COELIOXYS LATREILLE (HYMENOPTERA APOIDEA
:
MEGACHILIDAE) FROM INDIA1
Rajiv K. Gupta
(Withfive text-figures)
Anew
subgenus Tropicocoelioxys (Type-species: Coelioxys Tropicocoelioxys genoconcavitus sp. nov.)
( )
of genus Coelioxys Latreille has been proposed. The diagnostic characters of the new subgenus are given, as
also its affinities tosubgenusMelanocoelioxysMitchell andthedescriptionoftype-species;, genoconcavitussp.
nov. has certain affinities with C. confusus Smith and C.perseus Nurse.
12 *
Tropicocoelioxys subgen. nov. Melanocoelioxys Mitchell (type-species: C. tol-
teca Cresson) in respect of - scutum anterio-
Type-species of the subgenus: Coelioxys medially humped; sternum 5th in males exposed;
Tropicocoelioxys genoconcavitus sp. nov. scutellum with sparse punctures, crest usually
( )
Diagnostic characters Subocellar area deeply produced over the metanotum and propodeum
punctured, flat; occipital margin at vertex in- and subocellar area of face usually closely
curved and carinate; lateral ocelli close to the punctate and quite flat. However, the following
occipital margin; genae neither narrowed above characters of differentiation put both subgenera
-
orbelow, almost completely traversedwitha deep quite far and distinct vertex margin slightly
elliptical densely pubescent concavity, margined carinate; lateral ocelli equidistant from eyes and
all along with distinctly elevated carina, extend- occipital margin; genae narrower than eye in
ing from near the upper margin of eye up to the lateral view, usually not constricted below in
hypostome below; first segment of labial palp males and constricted on either side in females;
about half that of second in length; scutum genal area without concavity, at the most certain
humped anteriorly; carina ofpronotal tubercle not hypostomal excavation would be obscurely
elevatedbut spinosetowards lateral side; scutellar present; scutum smooth, impunctate medially;
surface sparsely ‘pitted’, posterio-median carina carina ofpronotal tubercle prominently elevated;
over projecting up to propodeum; axillae resem- axillar dorsal surface compressed at spine and
bling scutellum in surfacial texture, spine short, more or less recurved; concavity margin of basal
do not cross the transverse line if drawn with the tergumnotcarinate; foveal area oftergum2 finely
scutellar crest; concavity margin of basal tergum but deeply punctured; tergal grooves of all terga
carinate; gradular groove on terga 2 and 3 inter- interrupted medially, distinctly fasciate and with
rupted medially oratthe most quiteshallowatmid defined anterior margin.
line, bare; gradular groove on and tergites In Mitchell’s key (1973, p. 28) to the sub-
restricted laterally and distinctly margined genera of genus Coelioxys of the western hemi-
anteriorly, with dense pubescence; in males fifth sphere, subgenus Tropicocoelioxys can be suitab-
tergumwith a preapical prominent spine at lateral ly adjusted in between nos. 6 and 7 in close
extremities; 6thtergumwith4 acutespinesatapex relationship to Melanocoelioxys Mitchell.
and 2 baso-lateral, all acutely produced; sternum 4
Coelioxys (Tropicocoelioxys) genoconcavitus
5 usually exposed.
sp. nov. (Figs. 1-5)
Thesubgenus Tropicocoelioxys subgen. nov.
reflects certain close relationship with Nearctic MALE: Integument black with redness; ab-
domen, legs, tegulae and antenna with much red-
1Accepted May 1991.
3PG. Dept of Zoology, Raj Rishi College, Alwar 301 001. ness (variation: integument totally black, as those
3Named after its record from the tropics (south India). ofparatypes); punctures coarse and deep; on face,
4Named after the prominentconcavity atGenae. legs, tegulae fine and closer and dorsally at
426 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 88
Figs. 1-5: Coelioxys Tropicocoelioxys genoconcavitus sp. nov. 1. Head, front view 2. Head, lateral view 3. Scutellum and
( )
axillae; 4. Fore wing, anterior venation 5. Tergum 6th, dorsal view (dots indicate pubescence).
metasoma deeperbut closerandventrally shallow ly convergent below, hairy, inner margin with
and sparse. prominently elevated carina; clypeus flat, median
Pubescence white to pale, tarsal fringe gold- length greater than basal width, apical margin
en; apical fasceae on terga 2-5 complete, usually transverse not angulated laterally and densely
all erect except the tergal and sternal fasceae, fringed; supraclypeus same as clypeus; parocular
where it is ferruginous. Head about twice as wide area deeply concave nearantennal sockets; anten-
as median length; face densely hairy; eyes strong- nal sockets depressed dorso-laterally, equidistant
NEW
DESCRIPTIONS 427
to each other, midocellus and clypeus, quite close than the first, which is quite close to the apex of
to the eye margin; length of scape of antenna the second cuboital cell; fore coxae with a
slightly greater than that of apical flagellar seg- prominent spine; apices of metatarsi and tarsi
ment; subocellar area deeply punctured, flat with produced anteriorly in fore legs, rest of the legs
a fine midfacial line; lateral ocelli on slightly normal and unmodified.
convexsurface ofvertex, distance to each otheris Basal tergal concavity margin completely
less than to occipital margin and much less than carinate; gradular groove of 2nd and 3rd terga
to eye margin; occipital margin at vertex deeply quite shallow, unhairy, anterior margins not
incurved, depressed and strongly carinate; genal defined and much confined to lateral sides; on
width less than eye width in lateral view, neither terga 4 and 5 gradulargroove hairy and anteriorly
narrowed above orbelow, genal concavity broad- defined; apical fasceae on terga 2 to 5 almost
ly filling complete genal surface and with dense complete medially; rim areas on terga 4 and 5
thick plumose hairs, not projecting beyond the quitewide; tergal foveae indistinct; tergum 5 with
carinate margins all around; occipital margin at a prominently produced spine originating from
gena distinctly carinate, carina ofgenal concavity the base of rim at extreme lateral sides; tergum 6
and ofoccipital margin are distinctly separatedby with4 apicaland 2lateralo-basal spines, all acute-
a deep but fine groove; excavated hypostomal ly produced; apico-dorsal spines are slightly ex-
area below genal concavity, transverse and with ceeded by their respective ventral pair in length,
densepubescence; mandibles red, tridentate, teeth concavity medially at the base of dorsal spines
quite robust, eachwithtwo prominent ridges run- quite deep; apical margin ofterga 6 below deeply
ning towards dentate margin; segment 2nd of incurved andsubapicalsurfaceshallowlyconcave
labial palpi about twice that of first in length, in between the base of ventral pair of spines; 5
joints of 2nd and angulated 3-4 with two coarse sternites exposed; first sternum acutely
and two fine bristles; labrum almost equal in protuberent at base with a patch ofhairs; sterna 1
length and width. and 2 with apical fasceae interrupted medially,
Scutum slightly wider than median length, restwith fasceae completeat theirapical margins,
anteriorly humped; rest flat, deep punctures ar- rims slightly depressed on sterna 2 to 4; 5th ster-
ranged in longitudinal striations, median and nite broadly evaginated medio-apically and den-
parapsidial lines fine but notaulices obscure; sely pubescent.
pronotal extensions below tegulae sharply Total length 9.0; median length and maxi-
mum
carinate and terminate in an acute ridge, close to width offace 1.8 and 3.5; F. wing length 7.0
mesepistemal carina; mesepistemal carina (sub- (all in mm).
dividing unsculputured anterior face with that of Female: Not known.
densely pubescent lateral face) itself is distinctly Material Examined: Holotype Male, Cubbon
fasciate, followed by slightly bare longitudinal Park, Bangalore, 10 Junel981; Coll. Rajiv K.
strip at lateral face of mesepistemite; scutellum Gupta. Paratypes 2Males (on 11 and 12June 1981
sparsely ‘pitted’, posterior carina almost from same locality). All types presently with
transverse, projecting completely over author, shall be submitted to NPC, Entomology
metanotum and propodeum, slightly upcurved Division, IARI, New Delhi in due course oftime.
medially; axillar surface resembling scutellum, C. (T.) genoconcavitus sp. nov. is very dis-
spinose projection acute but short, not exceeding tinct from all the known Indian species of genus
thetransverse line ifdrawnatthe level ofscutellar Coelioxys. Not only any Indian but neighbouring
crest; tegulae finely punctured and shining; as well as farterritorial species do not possess the
forewings pale-hyaline, brownish near costal remarkable character of genal concavity; at the
margin becoming pale fuscous towards apex, most hypostomal excavations are known to exist
second recurrent veinis slightly furtherfrombase in several species the world over. However, C.
428 JOURNAL BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 88
.,
perseusNurse (collected fromMountAbu) andC. ters distinctlyseparatethe formerspecies fromthe
confusus Smith (on record from Lucknow, Mus- new one - hypostomal excavation confined to
soorie and Pusa) seem to be close relatives of extreme ventral area; mandible tridentate but
genoconcavitus in respect of 6 spines on apical teeth not so prominently produced, inner angle
terga in addition to upturned scutellar crest with subacute; clypeal apical margin with 5 fine
perseus and many subgeneric characters leading tubercles, surface convex; scutellar crest broadly
up to subgenus Melanocoelioxys of confusus (I rounded, smooth, not upturned medially; all terga
consider confusus can be suitably grouped under with complete apical fasceae and 5th sternum
Melanocoelioxys). The major features which dis- partially exposed, surface somewhat bare.
tinctly separateperseus from the new species are
Acknowledgements
- rounded scutellar crest, spine of 5th terga short
and blunt; all metasomal terga with lateral ex- I wish to express my gratitude to Dr R.L.
tremities spinose; shining and bare scutellum; Blinn (North Carolina State University), Dr
D
sternum 5th not exposed in males and lack of Basilowsky (Musee Royal de Afrique Central
genal concavity at cheeks. - Tervuren, Belgium) and Dr S.L Farooqi (IARI,
Comparatively, confusus is much more close New Delhi for their sincere cooperation during
)
to genoconcavitus. However, following charac- this study.
References
A
Mitchell, T.B. (1973): subgeneric revision of the bees of Deptt. Entomol. North Carolina State Univ., N.C.
thegenus Coelioxys oftheWestern Hemisphere. Contr. Raleigh, 129 p.
SOME NEW CHALCID PARASITOIDS (HYMENOPTERArEULOPHIDAE)
RECORDED FROM INDIA1
NikhatArifa2 and M.A. Khan3
(With thirty-five text-figures)
Two eulophidgenera: Ginsiella Erdos and OlynxFoersterhavebeen recorded forthe firsttime fromIndia.
Four new species, viz. Diglyphus indicus, D. frontolatus, Ginsiella indica and Olynx indicus are described in
detail. Type material has been deposited in Zoological Museum, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.
Genus DiglyphusWalker of D. poppaea as the type-species by Ashmead
(1904: 372) and listed again in Gahan and Fagan
Diglyphus Walker, 1844. Aim. Mag. Nat. Hist., (1923-45).
14: 409. Gordh and hendrickson Jr. (1979) have
Type-species: Cirrospilus chabrias Walker, by solved the contraversy over the confusion of its
monotypy. type species by citing the earlier work of Walker
There has beensome confusion overthetype (1844). In this case Walker (1844) wrote,
species of the genus Diglyphus. Some publica- "Diglyphus chabrias Cirrospilus chabrias Ann.
, ,
tions carrythetype-species asD.poppaea Walker, Nat. Hist. i. 451. Alten Finmark". This is the
1848. This error probably stems from the citation earliest reference Gordh and Hendrickson Jr.
could find to this name and from the context of
1Accepted March 1991. the remainder of Walker’s article they have
2Dept. ofBiology, Campus School, Pantnagar 263 145, Uttar declared it as a new combination. Thus Cir-
Pradesh.
& rospilus chabrias Walker no doubt should be the
Dept, ofEntomology, G.B. PantUniversityofAgri. Tech.,
type-species ofDiglyphus by monotypy.
Pantnagar, Uttar Pradesh.