Andrena (Micrandrena) aphroditae Pisanty 2025, sp. nov.

3.1.2.4.Andrena(Micrandrena)aphroditaePisanty sp. nov. Figures 4, 18 B, H, 21 I Etymology. Named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite, who is strongly associated with the island of Cyprus. Diagnosis. Within the Andrena minutula species group, A. aphroditae belongs to the species around A. spreta Pérez, which are characterized in the female by a clypeus which is non-rugose, weakly domed and partly to fully shagreened, a scutum which is shagreened to partly smooth, with fine, relatively sparse punctures, and terga which are mostly shagreened and impunctate. In the Levant and Cyprus, these include A. hebraica Pisanty & Wood sp. nov., A. minutuloides Perkins, A. spreta, A. tiaretta Warncke, and A. tkalcui Gusenleitner & Schwarz. Female Andrena aphroditae are distinguished from A. hebraica and A. tiaretta by the scutum and scutellum which are usually somewhat shiny and distinctly punctured (completely dull in A. hebraica; dull and weakly punctured in A. tiaretta; Figs 17 J, 18 H), and the terga which are uniformly shagreened (tergum 3 and often also 2 distinctly shinier apically vs. basally in A. hebraica). From Cypriot populations of A. spreta Pérez, female A. aphroditae can be distinguished by the clypeus which is more strongly domed and usually completely dull (Fig. 18 B; usually smooth apically in A. spreta), dark flagellum (Fig. 4 B; often reddish distally in A. spreta), usually shiny scutellum (usually dull in A. spreta; Figs 17 K, 18 H), brown stigma (yellowish in A. spreta; Figs 4 A, 17 M), and dark brown terminal fringe (Fig. 4 A, D; golden in Cypriot A. spreta). Continental populations of A. spreta are much more morphologically variable, but on average they differ from A. aphroditae by the same characters, most of all in the clypeus and stigma. Compared to A. minutuloides, female A. aphroditae has weaker and much finer punctation on the clypeus (Fig. 18 B, C), as well as somewhat weaker, finer and denser punctation on the scutum (Fig. 18 H, I). Separation from female A. tkalcui is easily done by the much darker colouration of the flagellum and wing veins (Fig. 17 L), as well as the more strongly shagreened scutum (Figs 17 H, 18 H) and weaker tergal apical hair bands. From the sympatric A. cervina Warncke, female A. aphroditae can be distinguished by the clypeus which is densely and finely punctured, often with hints of transverse striation on the basal half (more sparsely and coarsely punctured, without any transverse striation in A. cervina; Figs 18 A, B), and the scutum and scutellum, which are usually somewhat shiny, distinctly and not very densely punctured (completely dull, superficially and very densely punctured in A. cervina; Figs 18 G – H). The male genitalia (Fig. 21 I) provides good separation from all the above related species: the gonocoxites of A. spreta and A. tkalcui possess a distinct dorsal lobe (Fig. 20 F, J), the gonostyli of A. hebraica and A. tiaretta strongly converge apically (Fig. 21 G, J), the gonostyli of A. cervina have a strong inward kink near the apex (Fig. 20 O), and the penis valves of A. minutuloides and A. tiaretta are broader (Fig. 21 F, G). The males are further easily differentiated from A. spreta by the much smoother scutum and scutellum (Fig. 4 G) and the darker flagellum and stigma (Figs 4 E, F, 17 M). Description. Female. Body length: 5–6.5 mm. Integumental colour: Body and legs black. Flagellum black, distal flagellomeres increasingly covered with minute greyish setae. Distal tarsomeres black to dark brown. Wings weakly infuscate, veins dark brown, stigma centrally dark to light brown (Fig. 4 A). Tergal marginal zones black (Fig. 4 D). — Pubescence: Clypeus with moderately dense, semi-erect, short and thin whitish hairs, underlying cuticle visible. Apex of clypeus with two small strands of long brown hair. Supraclypeal area with short, erect whitish hairs. Paraocular area, scape and area around antennal sockets with moderately dense, erect medium-lengthed white hair (Fig. 4 B). Facial fovea in dorsal view with light brown hairs on upper part of fovea, white hairs on lower half (Fig. 4 C). Frons with sparse, short to medium, erect, mixed black and white hairs. Ocellar triangle with few erect medium-lengthed black hairs. Preoccipital ridge with erect, short to long, whitish to brownish hairs. Genal area with few short black hairs behind upper margin of compound eye, elsewhere with semi-erect to erect whitish hairs, short on dorsal part, medium-lengthed on ventral part (Fig. 4 A, C). Discs of scutum and scutellum with sparse, inconspicuous minute to short whitish hairs, with few scattered longer erect hairs. Periphery of scutum with moderately dense, erect short whitish hairs. Posterior margin of scutellum with few erect, medium to long, whitish to brown hairs (Fig. 4 C). Mesepisternum with long white hairs. Propodeal corbicula incomplete, posterodorsal fringe composed of long white plumose hairs, corbicular surface with few long, simple white hairs. Leg hair white to light brown, flocculus incomplete, white, tibial scopa composed of simple hairs, brownish posterobasally, elsewhere whitish (Fig. 4 A). Tergal discs 1–2 centrally essentially hairless, 3–4 gradually with minute inconspicuous whitish hairs. Lateral parts of tergal discs with sparse short white hair. Tergal marginal zones 2–4 with distinct lateral bands of white hair extending onto following tergal discs, strong and dense on terga 2–3, weaker on tergum 4. Terminal fringe brownish, with few flanking white hairs (Fig. 4 D). — Head: 1.25 times broader than long. Mandibles bidentate, moderately crossed. Galea very finely shagreened (Fig. 4 B). Labral process trapezoidal, not much broader than long. Clypeus moderately domed, basal half fully shagreened and matt, often with hints of fine transverse striations, apical half fully shagreened and matt to partly shagreened and weakly shiny. Clypeus punctation moderately strong, distance between punctures 0.5–1.5 puncture diameters, without impunctate midline (Figs 4 B, 18 B). Frons and upper part of paraocular area densely longitudinally striated, essentially impunctate (Fig. 4 B, C). Flagellomere 1 0.9–1.0 times as long as 2 + 3, 2 almost as long as 3 (Fig. 4 B). Facial fovea moderately broad above, here 0.4–0.5 times as broad as antennocular distance, weakly tapering below, extending from level of lower end of lateral ocellus to base of clypeus, lower ⅔ separated from compound eye by narrow smooth cuticular strip (Fig. 4 B, C). Distance of fovea from lateral ocellus about 1.5 ocellus diameters. Ocelloccipital distance about ¾ ocellus diameter. Preoccipital ridge weakly to moderately carinate (Fig. 4 C). — Mesosoma: Dorsolateral angle of pronotum not elevated. Scutum largely shagreened, usually with some shiny, partly smooth areas centrally, punctation fine, distance between punctures 0.5–1.5 puncture diameters. Scutellum similar but usually shinier, often completely smooth (Figs 4 C, 18 H). Mesepisternum finely alveolate, anterior part overlayed with oblique punctures. Surface of propodeal corbicula reticulated, with sparse, coarse punctures around hair bases. Posterolateral part of propodeum finely rugose-areolate. Propodeal triangle weakly delineated, horizontal part strongly radially rugose near base, elsewhere rugose-areolate, vertical part very finely areolated (Fig. 4 C). Hind pretarsal claw with small inner tooth. Recurrent vein 1 meets submarginal cell 2 at its middle or slightly proximal to it. Nervulus interstitial (Fig. 4 A). — Metasoma: Tergal discs impunctate, 1–2 and usually 3 completely shagreened and matt, 4 and occasionally 3 slightly shinier and more weakly shagreened. Tergal marginal zones weakly depressed, 2–3 centrally occupying 0.4–0.5 of tergal length, shagreening as on discs, much weaker on tergum 4 (Fig. 4 D). Pygidial plate triangular, completely flat, smooth to superficially shagreened. — Male. Body length: 5–5.5 mm. — Integumental colour: As in female, but tergal marginal zones somewhat brownish (Fig. 4 E, H). — Pubescence: Clypeus with moderately dense, semi-erect, short to medium white hair. Paraocular area with short to medium erect hair, black near compound eye, whitish near antennal sockets. Scape with medium-lengthed white hairs (Fig. 4 F). Frons with short to medium, erect dark hairs. Preoccipital ridge with short to long erect white hairs. Genal area with erect black hair behind upper margin of compound eye, elsewhere with white hair, short dorsally, gradually long ventrally (Fig. 4 E – G). Scutum and scutellum with sparse short whitish hair, some medium to long erect hairs appear mostly on periphery (Fig. 4 G). Mesepisternum with very long white hairs (Fig. 4 E). Propodeum with long white hairs (Fig. 4 E, G). Femora and tibiae with white hair, tarsi with brownish-white hair (Fig. 4 E). Base of tergal disc 1 and lateral parts of all tergal discs with sparse, short to medium white hair. Rest of tergal discs with minute inconspicuous whitish hair. Tergal marginal zones 2–4 with small lateral bands of white hair, extending onto following discs, very weak on tergum 4. Terminal fringe brownish-white (Fig. 4 H). — Head: 1.25 times broader than long. Labral process much broader than long, apical margin usually concave. Clypeus moderately domed, very shiny and almost completely smooth, punctation strong and dense, distance between punctures 0.5–1.5 puncture diameters. Flagellomere 1 about as long as 3, much longer than 2 (Fig. 4 F). Ocelloccipital distance about 1.1 ocellus diameters. Preoccipital ridge moderately carinate (Fig. 4 G). — Mesosoma: Scutum shiny, superficially shagreened to smooth, punctation fine and sparse, distance between punctures 1–3 puncture diameters. Scutellum similar, but smoother and more sparsely punctured. Propodeal triangle strongly rugose-areolate on horizontal part, very finely so on vertical part, usually becoming radially rugose near base (Fig. 4 G). Hind pretarsal claw strongly bifurcated. Rest of mesosom

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