Habralictus obscuratus, Liz & Gonçalves, 2025

Liz, Júlia Alberti de & Gonçalves, Rodrigo Barbosa, 2025, A taxonomic revision of Habralictus Moure, 1941 from Brazil, with description of four new species (Hymenoptera: Apidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 991 (1), pp. 1-53 : 43-46

11. Habralictus obscuratus sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:2A2E1240-7DB8-4C83-A6F5-BFBC57B5C807

Figs 18–19 , 21D

Diagnosis

Female with pairs of dorsolateral yellow maculations on the terga and dark mesoscutum. Differs from those of similar darkened species by the maculations on the metasoma, absent in H. beatissimus , and by the obtuse pronotal dorsolateral angle, acute in H. ligeus and H. macrospilophorus .

Male with yellow maculations on the terga and without paraocular fovea. Differs from that of H. callichroma by the acuminate-shaped anterior margin of the mesoscutum and brown stipe. Differs from that of H. macrospilophorus by the obtuse pronotal dorsolateral angle.

Etymology

From Latin ‘ obscūrus ’, ‘dark’, and ‘- atus ’, ‘having a’, referring to the dark colored mesoscutum.

Type material

Holotype BRAZIL – Espírito Santo • ♀; BR 262 Km 125, 25 km NW of Conceição do Castelo ; [20°19′4.661″ S, 41°13′33.574″ W]; 1000 m a.s.l.; 9 Jan. 1996; G.A.R. Melo leg.; DZUP 522330 .

Paratype BRAZIL – Espírito Santo • 1 ♂; Santa Teresa; [19°55′44.271″ S, 40°35′55.976″ W]; 21 Jul. 1966; C.T. and C. Elias leg.; DZUP 522511 .

Description

Female

HEAD. Head bright green; covered with sparse short white plumose setae. Labrum dark brown. Mandible usually yellow with darkened apex. Clypeus not depressed in the middle; green, with an apical band brown; covered with sparse short white decumbent setae and with a band of long apical setae; puncticulate; areolate between the punctures. Supraclypeal area with purple reflections; puncticulate; areolate between the punctures. Paraocular fovea extends from the base of the eye to the antennal socket, always attached to the eyes. Paraocular area sculpturing similar to that of the supraclypeal area. Frons puncticulate; areolate between the punctures. Gena covered with decumbent white setae. Scape dark brown. Flagellum mostly dark brown, ventrally light brown to yellow.

MESOSOMA. Pronotal dorsolateral angle obtuse, or with a rounded aspect. Pronotal lobe yellow. Tegula amber. Wing membrane hyaline. Mesoscutum anterior margin rounded, not acuminate-shaped; surface dark olive green intermixed with purple reflections; covered with very short tomentum and few sparse darker erect setae, more visible from an oblique view; puncticulate; areolate between the punctures. Mesepisternum bluish green; areolate. Metapostnotum not depressed in the median posterior surface; purplish green; entirely areolate to coriaceous.

LEGS. Fore coxa light brown, trochanter light brown to yellow, femur brown with a yellow tip, tibia and basitarsus yellow. Mid coxa brown, trochanter amber, femur brown with a yellow tip, tibia amber and ventrally yellow, basitarsus amber. Hind leg brown.

METASOMA. Terga dark brown with yellow maculations, as follows: T2 with two small yellow lateral basal maculations triangular-shaped, progressively increasing in length towards T5 where the yellow maculations occupy a little less than half of the width of the tergum, and are not connected; covered with short decumbent setae very sparsely distributed in T1, which progressively become denser towards T5; lineolate. Sterna very sparsely covered with shorter plumose setae.

MEASUREMENTS. Approximate body length 5.92 mm. Head width 1.5 mm; length 1.3 mm. Clypeoantennal distance 0.3 mm. Distance between subantennal sutures 0.36 mm. Lower interocular distance 0.82 mm. Upper interocular distance 0.84 mm. Scape length 0.64 mm. Intertegular distance 1.04 mm. T1 width 1.24 mm. T3 width 1.66 mm.

Male

HEAD. Head bright green; covered with sparse decumbent setae below the antennal socket and with dense short white decumbent setae above. Labrum yellow. Mandible usually yellow with darkened apex. Stipe brown. Clypeus not depressed in the middle; green, with an apical band yellow, which is projected upwards in the center; covered with sparse long white decumbent setae and with a band of long apical setae; puncticulate; polished between the punctures. Supraclypeal area puncticulate, more densely punctate towards the upper portion; lineolate. Paraocular area fovea absent. Paraocular area sculpturing similar to that of the supraclypeal area. Frons densely punctulate; strongly areolate (with a rough aspect). Gena covered with decumbent white setae and post-gena with longer plumose setae; polished. Scape dark brown; covered with sparse short erect setae (<0.1 mm). F1 about the same size as the pedicel (0.1 mm). Flagellomeres F2–F11 becoming shorter and more robust to the apex. Flagellum mostly dark brown, ventrally light brown to yellow.

MESOSOMA. Pronotal dorsolateral angle obtuse or with a rounded aspect. Pronotal lobe yellow. Tegula amber. Wing membrane hyaline. Mesoscutum with the anterior margin acuminate-shaped; surface bluish green; covered with very short tomentum and few sparse darker erect setae, more visible from an oblique view; punctulate; weakly lineolate between the punctures. Scutellum punctulate and polished between the punctures. Mesepisternum bluish. Pre-episternum punctulate and lineolate between the punctures. Hypoepimeral area puncticulate and weakly lineolate. Mesepisternum puncticulate and polished between the punctures. Metapostnotum surface flat/at the same level as the propodeum; bluish green; entirely lineolate to coriaceous.

LEGS. Fore leg yellow. Mid coxa brown, trochanter yellow, femur mostly yellow, with a brown apex or ventrally, tibia brown with a yellow apex, basitarsus yellow. Hind leg brown.

METASOMA. Terga clavate form (about the same width, apex more dilated); dark brown with yellow maculations, as follows: T2–T4 with yellow basal bands, sometimes hidden by the terga looking like separate maculations; covered with short decumbent setae very sparsely distributed in T1, which progressively become denser towards T6; lineolate. S5 without any projection.

GENITALIA. Gonobase almost one half of the gonocoxite, with basal projection developed. Gonocoxite short, dorsal inner margin forming a flange triangular-shaped, apical portion weakly developed. Gonapophysis slender, apex rounded, longer than the gonostylus, curved ventrally. Gonostylus basal lobe elongated, with short setae; ventral process curved, with small setae elsewhere and long setae apically, dorsal process expanded medially. Volsella developed.

MEASUREMENTS. Approximate body length 6 mm. Head mean width 1.44 mm. Head mean length 1.28 mm. Clypeoantennal mean distance 0.36 mm. Mean distance between subantennal sutures 0.3 mm. Lower interocular mean distance 0.5 mm. Upper interocular mean distance 0.76 mm. Scape mean length 0.4 mm. Intertegular mean distance 0.9 mm. T1 mean width 0.64 mm. T2 mean width 0.8 mm. T3 mean width 1.06 mm.

Distribution

Brazil: Espírito Santo.

Figures

Fig. 18. Habralictus obscuratus sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (DZUP 522330). A. Head in frontal view. B. Mesosoma in lateral view. C. Mesosoma in dorsal view. D. Metasoma in dorsal view. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 19. Habralictus obscuratus sp. nov., paratype, ♂ (DZUP 522511) A. Head in frontal view. B. Mesosoma in lateral view. C. Mesosoma in dorsal view. D. Metasoma in dorsal view. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 21. Distribution maps for Habralictus Moure, 1941 from Brazil. A. H. canaliculatus Moure, 1941 and H. beatissimus (Cockerell, 1901). B. H. macrospilophorus Moure, 1941 and H. ligeus (Schrottky, 1911). C. H. callichroma (Cockerell, 1901), H. chlorobaptus Moure, 1941 and H. crassiceps Moure, 1941. D. H. acuminatus sp. nov., H. cyaneus sp. nov., H. nitidus sp. nov. and H. obscuratus sp. nov.