A new species of Ceratina (Ceratinula) Moure, 1941, with notes on the taxonomy and distribution of Ceratina (Ceratinula) manni Cockerell, 1912, and an identification key for species of this subgenus known from Brazil (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Ceratinini)

Abstract

A new species of the small carpenter bee, genus Ceratina (Ceratinula) Moure, from the Cerrado Biome in midwestern Brazil is described and illustrated. Ceratina (Ceratinula) fioreseana Oliveira, sp. nov. is easily distinguished from its congeners by the size of the facial maculations and the honey-yellow color of the legs and antennal scape, which distinguish it especially from Ceratina (Ceratinula) manni Cockerell, 1912, the most similar species in terms of facial maculation patterns. The geographic records of C. manni, here interpreted as endemic to the semiarid Caatinga region in northeastern Brazil, are presented, with new records for the Brazilian states of Piauí, Ceará and Bahia. A morphological description of both species is provided, including a comparison with the type specimen of C. manni from the state of Paraíba (Guarabira, formerly named Independencia). An identification key is provided for the described species of Ceratina (Ceratinula) recorded for Brazil according to Moure’s Catalogue of Neotropical Bees.

First report of a nest of Ceratina (Ceratinula) fioreseana Oliveira (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

“…The high prevalence of E. fosbergii pollen grains found in the residual content of the C. fioreseana nest suggests that this bee species might be oligolectic, but a single sample would not be appropriate to conclude about its diet. The C. fioreseana specimens studied and described by Oliveira et al (2020) were collected on flowers of peppermint, Mentha piperita L. (Lamiaceae), which could be either a pollen and/ or a nectar source. Flower records of eight C. (Ceratinula) species in São Paulo State showed associations with 34 plant species belonging to 22 families, which indicates that some of these species could be polylectic given the high number of species visited (Imperatriz-Fonseca et al, 2011).…”

“…Here, it is reported for the first time a nest of Ceratina (Ceratinula) fioreseana Oliveira, 2020 constructed in a trap nest in Minas Gerais State, south-eastern Brazil. This species was recently described from Goiás State from an area distant about 500 km from our study site (Oliveira et al, 2020). It belongs to the subgenus C. (Ceratinula) Moure, 1941, which comprises 40 minute species of up to 6 mm distributed from southern United States to northern Argentina (Oliveira et al, 2020;Ascher & Pickering, 2022;Moure & Melo, 2022).…”

“…This species was recently described from Goiás State from an area distant about 500 km from our study site (Oliveira et al, 2020). It belongs to the subgenus C. (Ceratinula) Moure, 1941, which comprises 40 minute species of up to 6 mm distributed from southern United States to northern Argentina (Oliveira et al, 2020;Ascher & Pickering, 2022;Moure & Melo, 2022). The records of nest biology or mentions of built nests of C. (Ceratinula) species were documented by Schrottky (1914) for C. gomphrenae Schrottky, 1909in Paraguay, Michener & Eickwort (1966 for C. rectangulifera Schwarz & Michener, 1954in Costa Rica, Sakagami & Laroca (1971 for C. muelleri Friese, 1910and C. oxalidis Schrottky, 1907in southern Brazil, and Rehan et al (2015 for four species from Panama.…”

“…The 23.4 cm-length and 0.59 cm-diameter petiole was carefully open the next day with a cutter to check if there was a Ceratina nest or if it was occupied by ants such as Pseudomyrmex gracilis (Fabricius, 1804) (Formicidae), which can use this kind of substrate to nest (Rocha-Filho et al, in prep.). The emerging bees were identified with the key provided by Oliveira et al (2020) and are deposited as voucher specimens at the collection of Laboratório de Ecologia e Comportamento de Abelhas (LECA) of Universidade Federal de Uberlândia.…”

“…Ceratina Latreille, 1802 (Apidae) is represented by approximately 380 species (Oliveira et al, 2020;Ascher & Pickering, 2022;Moure & Melo, 2022) classified in 23 subgenera with a worldwide distribution but absent in Ireland, Iceland, New Zealand, and some small islands (Michener, 2007;Ascher & Pickering, 2022). Females nest in pithy twigs or dead branches where they excavate a burrow and construct unlined brood cells (Michener, 2007).…”