Bees from British Guiana

By T. D. A. Cockerell

BULLETIN

OF

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Vol. XXXVIII, Art. XX, pp. 685-690

New York, December 21, 1918

[Pg 685]

59.57.99(88)

Article XX.—BEES FROM BRITISH GUIANA

By T. D. A. Cockerell.

In connection with the work of the Tropical Research Station of the
New York Zoological Society, conducted by Mr. William Beebe, collections
of insects, including bees, were made. The present report deals with a
series of bees from the Bartica District, and Mr. John Tee Van, in forwarding
them, states that "almost all of these bees were procured about a clump of
several species of nightshades (Solanum), which were flowering in thinned-out
jungle." I give an artificial key, which will enable one who is not a specialist
in bees to separate readily each species from the rest. It will, of course,
remain necessary to compare any species with a fuller account to make
sure that it is not some form unrepresented in the present collection. The
types of the new species and varieties from British Guiana are deposited
in The American Museum of Natural History. Species marked P. are from
the Penal Settlement; those marked K. occur at Kalacoon.

[Pg 688]

NOTES AND DESCRIPTIONS

Melipona interrupta (Latreille).—In the specimen sent, the bands
on second and following segments are notched above in middle, with only
an obscure linear interruption.

Melipona fasciata barticensis Cockerell.—One specimen has five
linear red bands on abdomen, but in another the bands are very indistinct,
almost obsolete.

Melipona intermixta Cockerell.—The ground color of the first three
abdominal tergites varies; in the lighter forms that of the first is pale fulvous
with the shoulders blackish, of the second and third clear ferruginous.

Euglossa singularis Mocsáry.—Judging from the brief description, it
appears that E. meliponoides Ducke is probably the same species.

Euglossa decorata Smith, var. ruficauda, new variety

Both sexes with abdomen ferruginous, apically more or less dusky, but
the whole effect lighter and redder than typical; scutellum green with the
hind margin red. Tuft on female scutellum light fulvous. The female,
from Kalacoon, (Hym. 212) is the type of the variety.

Euglossa ignita Smith, var. chlorosoma, new variety

Green, without coppery tints, but variably suffused with purple. It is
smaller than E. piliventris, with shorter mouth-parts, and the labrum pallid
with a pair of dusky spots. A male in the U. S. Nat. Museum from Bartica,
which I reported as E. piliventris, belongs here. Female E. piliventris has
long yellow hairs on the anterior margin of hind basitarsus, but in chlorosoma
the hair in this situation is black. The type of the variety is a female
labelled Hym. 140. A female from Kalacoon has brassy and coppery tints
on the apical part of abdomen, and must be referred to E. ignita proper.
The type locality of ignita is Jamaica.

Ceratina læta Spinola. This was described from the female. The
specimen sent is a male, and differs from the female in being smaller, and
having a transverse band on anterior margin of clypeus, triangular marks
on lower corners of face, and a large patch (emarginate above) on labrum all
ivory-white. This is very like C. viridula Smith, which Ducke considers a
synonym of læta, but the base of the metathorax seems to differ, and the
nervures are piceous. For the present, therefore, I retain C. viridula as a
distinct species. The female of C. viridula, collected by Busck in the
Panama Canal Zone, is also distinguishable from that sex of C. læta.

[Pg 689]

Epicharis maculata var. barticana, new variety

.—Base of mandibles with a large cuneiform yellow mark; a broad
black band down each side of labrum; yellow spots on prothorax large;
scutellum with a pair of large transversely oval yellow areas, separated by a
narrow black band; band on second abdominal segment with a posterior
median projection. Kalacoon, 1916. (Hym. 217.)

Rhathymus beebei, new species

.—Length about 22 mm., anterior wing 18 mm.; head clear ferruginous,
with red hair, lower part of face more pallid, with a creamy tint;
apical half of mandibles black; clypeus prominent, minutely roughened,
with a smooth median line; mesothorax black, with a median ridge, the
surface on each side of this strongly punctured, but shining between the
punctures; rest of thorax ferruginous, and all of thorax with ferruginous
hair; scutellum not bigibbous, but with an elevated transverse ridge; pleura
with a blackish area below the wings; lower part of mesopleura with a
shining tubercle; tegulæ clear ferruginous, finely punctured; wings strongly
reddened; legs clear ferruginous; abdomen fusiform, shining; first two
segments dull reddish, pallid posterolaterally, the others reddish black, with
the hind margins redder; apical plate very large, concave. Bartica District
(Hym. 19). Very distinct by the transverse straight ridge on scutellum;
nearest perhaps to the considerably smaller R. unicolor Smith, but that has
dark fuscous wings. The antennæ are unfortunately missing.

Augochlora callichlorura, new species

.—Length a little over 7 mm.; first two abdominal segments rather
weakly vibrissate on hind margin with orange hairs; hind spur of hind leg
with long spines. Head and thorax very dark purplish, nearly black, but
a blue-green spot at upper end of clypeus, supraclypeal area brilliant purple,
and base of metathorax strongly tinged with purple; anterior and middle
legs dark, with weak purple tints, but hind femora, tibiæ and basal half
of basitarsi all brilliant green on outer side; abdomen short and broad,
shining, very brilliant emerald green. Head broad, eyes strongly converging
below; clypeus with extremely large punctures; front dull and granular;
ocelli ordinary; cheeks with thin white hair; mesothorax and scutellum
shining, but well punctured; base of metathorax with strong short plicæ;
angles of prothorax not prominent; tegulæ rufotestaceous; wings grayish
translucent, stigma and nervures dusky pale brown; first recurrent nervure
meeting second transversocubital; abdomen with thin pale hair, hind
margins of segments not darkened. Bartica District.

[Pg 690]

Unique by the combination of purplish head and thorax and green abdomen,
the general effect recalling A. atropos Smith.

Florilegus barticanus, new species.

.—Length about 11 mm.; black, except as follows: first abdominal
segment strongly greenish; clypeus and labrum entirely yellow; mandibles
fulvous apically (but base black); antennæ, except the first two joints,
ferruginous beneath; hind tarsi, and apex of hind tibiæ, dusky red; hair of
head and thorax ferruginous, paler below, no admixture of dark hairs;
eyes reddish; mesothorax shining, but distinctly punctured; tegulæ clear
ferruginous; wings dusky hyaline, nervures reddish fuscous; legs with pale
hair, conspicuously plumose on hind tibiæ; abdomen with four broad dense
ochraceous hair-bands, that on fourth segment broadly excavated in middle
posteriorly, on fifth broadly interrupted; sixth segment with a small patch
of fulvous hair on each side; apical part of abdomen dorsally, except for the
bands and patches, with very dark fuscous hair. Bartica District (Hym.
11).

Related to F. lanieri Guér. from Cuba and F. condigna Cresson from the
United States. In the coloration of the legs it is intermediate between these
two.

Tetrapedia lacteipennis Vachal.—It should be added to Vachal's
description, that the dorsal abdominal segments 2 to 4 have yellow bands.

The Bartica collection contains a Megalopta from Hoorie, but it is
unfortunately broken. I have Megalopta panamensis Cockerell from
Maroni, French Guiana (Queensland Museum, 42).

I add the description of a new species from French Guiana, the type of
which is in my collection.

Augochlora maroniana, new species

.—Length slightly over 8 mm.; head, thorax and legs bright green; abdomen
yellowish green strongly suffused with coppery, the first two segments with apical
fringes of orange hair; face rather narrow; antennæ black; lower middle of clypeus
black; mesothorax and scutellum rough with dense punctatures, the scutellum with
two copper-red spots; area of metathorax with very feeble plicæ; tegulæ black with
pallid margin, the basal side broadly green; wings dusky; second s. m. square;
first r. n. meeting second t. c; stigma dusky reddish; legs with mainly pale hair,
hind tibiæ with dark hair on outer side basally; hind spur with about six long spines;
basal half of basitarsi green on outer side; abdomen shining, with pale ochreus hair.

Maroni, French Guiana (Queensland Mus., 43). Related to A. cupreola (Ckll.),
but with the vibrissate fringes on abdomen nearly twice as long, and deep orange-fulvous,
and the mesothorax much more densely punctured. Also related to A.
diversipennis (Lep.), but with the face much narrower, and the area of metathorax
much less distinctly plicate. From A. calypso Sm. it is known by the wings not being
yellowish, the inner orbits not edged with blue, and the tarsi not ferruginous.

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