Hoplitis ( Alcidamea ) producta ( Cresson, 1864 )

Hoplitis ( Alcidamea) producta ( Cresson, 1864) View in CoL

Gynandromorph

( Figs. 1 View Figures 1‒5 ‒8)

DESCRIPTION: The specimen is a nearly perfectly bilateral gynandromorph, as sexual features of color, pubescence, and integument are divided asymmetrically left (female) to right (male) along the sagittal plane of its body in all three tagmata ( Figs. 1–3 View Figures 1‒5 ), except for the clypeus, which appears more female-like.

Measurements. Body length 5.6 mm; head length 1.5 mm; head width 1.7 mm; mesosoma width 1.6 mm; metasoma width 1.6 mm. In general, the gynandromorph is slightly smaller than the average female ( 6.20 mm, ± 0.68, n = 7) and male ( 6.44 mm, ± 0.45, n = 6) reference specimens, although one of the female references was shorter ( 5.3 mm) and another of the same length ( 5.6 mm). The gynandromorph pubescence is generally sparser on both the right and left sides than the reference specimens, but this may be attributable to wear. This feature is most noticeable on the male side (frontal left) of the head.

Head. Bilaterally split into male (right) and female (left) features except for the clypeus, which bears largely female traits ( Figs. 6 View Figures 6‒7 –8). The male antenna contains 13 segments with a thickened scape (L/W = 0.51/0.23) and a pointed terminal segment, while the female antenna consists of 12 segments, a narrower scape (L/W = 0.47/0.14), and a blunt terminal. The male side has a wider eye ( 0.47 mm) and narrower gena ( 0.43 mm) than the female side ( 0.42 mm and 0.47 mm, respectively). On the ventral side, the female side shows a 3-toothed mandible, while the male side is obscured by the opposing mandible but does show mandibular ridges consistent with typical males ( Fig. 6 View Figures 6‒7 ). On the ventral side, the female hypostoma area along the ventral gena margin has long white bristles that form a loose basket that is absent on the male side ( Fig. 6 View Figures 6‒7 ). Pubescence on either side of the head generally follows typical male and female characteristics, but the male trait of thick hair on the frons and clypeus is not evident ( Fig. 7 View Figures 6‒7 ). The clypeus appears structurally and dimensionally uniform, and it is not divided medially left to right like other portions of the head. The male references showed punctures on the clypeus that were oblong, closer together (<1 puncture diameter apart centrally), smaller, and devoid of shiny interspaces (Fig. 10) compared to the female clypeus. Female references generally had shorter clypeal hairs (~1 to 2 median ocellus width) with the underlying integument displaying larger (~2×), more distinct, and rounded punctures (1 to 2 puncture diameters apart centrally) with shiny interspaces (Fig. 11). In addition, the female references had polished areas (about the width of an antenna socket) of sparse punctation in the basal-medial area of their clypeus, just below the frons (Fig. 11), while the same area in the males showed mostly dense punctation without polished integument (Fig. 10). CHW on both the left and right sides are equal ( 0.45 mm and 0.45 mm), as are CL of the right and left sides ( 0.57 mm and 0.56 mm). This differs from the reference specimens in which the male clypeus was narrower (CHW: 0.40 mm, ± 0.02, n = 7) and shorter (CL: 0.51 mm, ± 0.02, n = 7) compared to the females (CHW: 0.47 mm, ± 0.02, n = 7; CL: 0.60 mm, ± 0.03, n = 7).

Mesosoma. Typical female legs on the left and typical male legs on the right side. Tarsal claws are simple on the left legs, bifurcated on the right legs. The rear legs of the gynandromorph differ in structure. The female (left) leg has a wider basitarsus ( 0.26 mm) covered with short bristles, while the male (right) leg has a narrower basitarsus ( 0.20 mm) without bristles. The second tarsal segment of the hind leg is wider on the female side than on the male side ( 0.25 mm vs. 0.22 mm), as is the third tarsal segment ( 0.17 mm vs. 0.22 mm). The basitarsus of the left front leg is covered in erect, curving white hairs, which are the longest on this segment and taper down in length to the distitarsus. The basitarsus of the right front leg has sparse white hairs, mostly along the margins, while the other segments continuing to the distitarsus have few and scattered long hairs. Differences in scutum punctation are evident along the dorsal medial line, where the male (right) side has finer, smaller punctation (~0.67×) compared to the female (left) side (Fig. 8). The ventral mesepisternum between the mid and hind coxae exhibits dense white pubescence on the male side, which is largely absent on the female side ( Fig. 1 View Figures 1‒5 ).

Metasoma. Sexual asymmetry is evident in the presence or absence of sternal scopa along the medial line ( Figs. 1, 5 View Figures 1‒5 ). The left (female) sternal segments (S2–S6) are covered in fine white scopal bristles up to the midline, while these bristles are absent on the right (male) side. The right (male) sterna are shiny and mostly hairless on their discs, with white hairs along the apical margins extending to the midline; S3–S4 have longer, denser hairs medially. The typical wedge-shaped S2 projection is present on the male side but absent on the female side, resulting in a half-formed projection ( Fig. 5 View Figures 1‒5 ). The left sternal margins are straight or concave and not thickened apically, whereas the right S3–S4 margins are convex, medially emarginated, and thickened apically. The T6 rim is smooth on the left side but features the typical male lateral spine on the right side ( Fig. 4 View Figures 1‒5 ). T7 is visible but malformed, appearing triangular and pointed, with a straight lateral facet on the right side and a slightly convex lateral facet on the left side ( Fig. 4 View Figures 1‒5 ). The specimen follows the expected pattern where male terga have brownishhyaline apical margins ( Figs. 3, 4 View Figures 1‒5 ), while female terga have black apical margins ( Figs. 2, 4 View Figures 1‒5 ). The tip of a gonostylus anterior to T7 is present on the male side but is not visible in the included photos.