Megachile rugipuncta Alfken 1934

Figs 41–44.

Megachile rugipuncta Alfken 1934: 152, ♀ nec ♂, “ Mariut [Lake Mariout, Egypt]”. Lectotype ♀, by present designation (see below), ZMHB.

Megachile tkalcui Zanden 1996: 889, ♀, “ Israel, Arava, 3 km S Hazeva ”. Holotype ♀, NMNL; paratypes ♀, NMNL. New synonymy.

Type material: Lectotype ♀, designated here, a specimen in good condition, the abdomen is broken and glued to small card, labeled as follows: 1. “Mariout”. 2. “Typus” [printed on red label]. 3. “ Megachile rugipuncta sp. nova det. J. D. Alfken 1933”. 4. “ Holotype M. rugipuncta des. van der Zanden 1993”. 5. Lectotype Megachile rugipuncta des. C. Praz 2020. The male described by Alfken (1934) belongs to another species, M. laniventris sp. nov. We also examined the holotype female of M. tkalcui (NMNL).

Additional material: JORDAN: 1 ♂ 1 ♀, Vadi [Wadi] Rum env., 4–5.v.1996, leg. Mi. Halada (CPCN); ISRAEL AND PALESTINE: 1 ♀, Hazeva, 7.5.2010, leg. A. Gotlieb, 59115 (SMNH); 1 ♀, Hameshar, Shitim, 30.iv.2013, leg. A. Dorchin (CPCN); MOROCCO: 1 ♀, Beni-Bassia, 60 km EN Boudnib, 21.5.1995, leg. Ma. Halada (OLML); 1 ♀, 15 km S Assa, 17– 18.4.1995, leg. Ma. Halada (CPCN).

Distribution: Egypt, Israel and Palestine, Jordan, Morocco.

Diagnosis: Female: Can be recognized using the following combination of morphological traits: body size approximately 12 mm; integument dark brown, except mandibles, antennae including scape (Fig. 42), legs including all coxa orange-red; head, scutellum and sometimes T1-T3 may also be orange red. Punctation diagnostic, as follows: on tergal discs, finely and densely punctate, interspaces at most one puncture diameter (Fig. 43); on mesonotum, punctures similar to tergal punctures, punctation sparser, with interspaces shiny, up to 1.5 puncture diameters (Fig. 41); on vertex, punctures particularly coarse, approximately twice as large as on mesonotum, with interspaces up to one puncture diameter wide (Fig. 41). T2 but not T3 laterally with fovea. Clypeus apically with wide, impunctate shiny margin (Fig. 42). Vestiture predominantly white, scopa black on S6, vertex without appressed, brown vestiture.

Male (first description): Body length 12 mm; integument dark brown, at least legs and sternites partly orange. T2 but not T3 with fovea. T6 with preapical carina strongly denticulate, strongly produced apically. Front tarsi unmodified, integument brown-orange, tarsal segments 2, 3 and to some extent 4 ventrally with a loosely defined dark brown maculation. Punctation on tergites particularly fine and dense; punctures slightly larger on mesonotum, and much larger on vertex laterally (Fig. 44).

Geographic variation: Some specimens from Israel (among which a female from Hazeva included in the molecular phylogeny with number PAMEG009-21; Fig. 1), corresponding to the type specimens of M. tkalcui, placed here in synonymy with M. rugipuncta, have the integument of the head, scutellum and T1-T2 orange-red; other specimens from Israel (including the female from Hameshar, Shitim, included in the molecular phylogeny with number PAMEG010-21; Fig. 1), as well as the lectotype of M. rugipuncta and the specimens from Jordan and Morocco, have the integument mostly brown with the exception of the legs, the mandibles and the antennae. In addition, the two females from Morocco have the mesonotum more densely and finely punctate than the specimens from Jordan and Israel. For now, we treat all these specimens as one widely distributed species, but future studies should further examine geographic variation in this taxon.