Duckeanthidium silvicola Guevara & Gonzalez, 2025

Duckeanthidium silvicola Guevara & Gonzalez , new species

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

( Figs. 1–4 View Figures 1–4 )

DIAGNOSIS: This species, currently known only from the female, is similar to D. thielei from Costa Rica in having a black body integument (compare Figs. 1, 3 View Figures 1–4 with Figs. 5–7 View Figures 5–8 ) and punctation of the terga ( Figs. 4 View Figures 1–4 , 8 View Figures 5–8 ), with the depressed premarginal zone more densely punctate than the disc. However, it can be easily distinguished from that species by the dark reddish-brown pubescence on the head and mesosoma (largely black in D. thielei ), corkscrew-like setae on procoxa, protrochanter, profemur, protibia, and protarsi (absent in D. thielei ), and the metasomal scopa, which is black except white on S2, S3, and S4 laterally (black except white on S2 laterally in D. thielei ). The lighter pubescence of the head and mesosoma is similar to that of the likely sympatric species D. atropos (Smith) from the Brazilian Amazon. However, in D. atropos , the setae on the legs are plumose, not modified, and the depressed premarginal zones of the terga are dark brown as well as densely and finely punctate, similar to the black discs (See Supplemental Material).

DESCRIPTION: Female. Total body length 12.0 mm, forewing length 8.5 mm. Head wider than long, width 4.1 mm, length 3.6 mm; compound eye length 3.3 mm; upper interorbital distance 2.4 mm, lower interorbital distance 2.3 mm. Scape length 1.3 mm, longer than alveolocellar distance, alveoloocellar distance 1.1 mm; F1 longer than wide, longer than F2, remaining flagellomeres about as long as wide to slightly longer than wide, except clearly F10 longer than wide. Clypeus broader than long, approximately 1.9 wider than long, length 1.2 mm, width 2.3 mm. Malar area very short, virtually absent. Mesoscutum wider than long, width 3.4 mm, length 3.0 mm; mesoscutellum bigibbous, wider than long, width 2.4 mm, length 0.9 mm; metatibia longer than wide, length 2.8 mm, width 0.9 mm; metabasitarsus longer than wide, length 1.7 mm, width 0.6 mm; T2 width 4.6 mm.

Structure. Mandible 4-dentate, first dental interspace deeper and shorter than second and third dental interspace; blade of galea about three-fourths as long as eye, outer margin with row of strong setae, mostly hooked at apices; maxillary palpus with long curved setae, basal segment small and not well differentiated from rest of maxilla; second segment of labial palpus 0.8x shorter than first; juxtantennal carina present, 1.3 longer than alveoli, extending below lower margin of alveoli; preoccipital border shaped. Pronotal lobe with ridge elevated at lower extremity to form small rounded projection; omaular carina limited to upper half of mesepisternum; mesoscutellum overhanging metanotum, rounded (not carinate) posteriorly, with median, longitudinal, nearly bare depression; forewing with basal vein meeting cu-v, first and second recurrent veins (m-cu) both almost three vein widths distal to first and second submarginal crossveins respectively; front tibial spur broad, malus extending little beyond velum so that whole spur seems broadly truncate; middle tibial spur weakly hooked at apex; spurs of hind tibia strongly hooked at apices; arolia absent but small dark projection, tapering distally; propodeum with basal zone vertical, divided into numerous small, mostly irregular foveae open posteriorly, a long strong carina behind spiracle forming long fovea; propodeal surface dull, foveae not shiny.

Coloration. Black, except: Small spot yellow on inferior paraocular area; dark reddish on antenna, metanotum, profemur, mediotarsus, distitarsus, metafemur, outer surface of metabasitarsus, lateral region of propodeum close to propodeal fovea, marginal zone of terga; tegula black with small reddish spot medially and posteriorly; wings yellowish with yellow-brown venation except vein C of forewing brown and forewing beyond venation, including costal part of marginal cell, dusky, veins in and near dusky area blackish.

Pubescence. Reddish-brown, except pale (whitish to yellowish) on clypeus, paraocular area, ventral margin of mandible, mesepisternum ventrally, coxae, trochanters, posterior margin of probasitarsus and remaining segments, tarsi of posterior leg, and T6; black on anterior region of protibia and probasitarsus, meso- and metatibia, meso- and metabasitarsus; long erect setae on lateral margins of T2–T6; scopal setae white on S2–S3, and S4 laterally, black on S4 medially and S5–S6; ventral surface of mesepisternum, procoxa, protrochanter, base of profemur, posteroapical region of protibia, and posterior margin of protarsi densely covered by corkscrewlike setae.

Surface sculpturing. Supra-clypeal area with irregular shining longitudinal ridge extending up weakly on frons to ocellus; clypeus, supraclypeal area, and paraocular area with punctation contiguous to dense (≤0.5 PW); frons, vertex, and gena with punctures contiguous and smaller than clypeus; labrum dull and imbricate with separated minute punctures, erect hairs, and midapical tuft of long erect bristles. Mesoscutum and mesoscutellum with punctures smaller, denser, and surface therefore duller than on rest of body; mesepisternum and metepisternum with punctures as on clypeus; metanotum and propodeum imbricate with minute and sparse punctures. Disc of T1–T4 shiny, weakly imbricate, with sparse punctures (1.0–2.5 PW) on basal half, and contiguous on apical half (medially sparse on T2–T4), marginal zone of T1– T5 shiny and impunctate; T6 with punctures contiguous; S1 weakly imbricate with punctures sparse; S2–S6 with contiguous and coarsely punctate, punctures smaller on basal sterna.

MALE: Unknown.

HOLOTYPE: 1♀, Colombia: Caquetá, Araracuara, 180 msnm. Bosque primario, 15 m. 4 Sep. 1994, G. Gangi / 14029/ LABUN 005737 (barcode label). The specimen is deposited in the Laboratorio de Investigación en abejas de la Universidad Nacional Bogotá, D.C., Colombia.

ETYMOLOGY: The specific epithet is derived from Latin and means “living in the forest,” referring to the primary forest where the specimen was collected in the Amazon basin of Colombia.