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| Tetralonioidella mimetica Orr & Zhu, in Orr, Chesters, Williams, Wood, Zhou, Bossert, Sless, Warrit, Rasmont, Ghisbain, Boustani, Luo, Feng, Niu et Zhu, 2024. |
Abstract
A new species of bumble bee-mimicking brood parasitic bee, Tetralonioidella mimetica Orr & Zhu, sp. nov., is described from China. The systematic placement of this species was initially challenging but was resolved using a combination of phylogenomic and COI barcode analyses, which strongly support the new species as a member of the genus Tetralonioidella Strand. Interestingly, the new species mimics the color pattern of both a bumble bee (Bombus Latreille), and its host Habropoda Smith species, a mimicry format previously unknown for bees. A review of the other Tetralonioidella species revealed three additional bee mimics, including two further likely model-host-brood parasite mimicry complexes. To our knowledge, these represent the first documented three-tiered mimetic systems in bees. Several additional taxonomic actions recently became necessary in these and related taxa: Tetralonioidella meghalayensis Dohling & Dey, 2024 is synonymized syn. nov. with Habropoda radoszkowskii (Dalla Torre, 1896) and Varthemapistra Engel, stat. rev. is again synonymized with Habrophorula Lieftinck. Our results also highlight issues with the generic classification of the tribe Melectini as currently used, as Melecta Latreille was found paraphyletic in relation to the remaining melectine genera. As a first step toward resolving this issue, we return the Melecta subgenus Eupavlovskia Popov, stat. rev. to genus level and discuss the ongoing systematic uncertainties regarding melectine taxonomy.
Keywords: Anthophila, brood parasite, Melectini, mimicry, Nomadinae, taxonomy
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| Male external morphology of Tetralonioidella mimetica sp. nov. Imaged from the holotype (IOZ(E)2148141) A face B dorsal C habitus D labels excluding identification label. Lines represent mm. Images by Pierre Rasmont. |
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| Female external morphology of Tetralonioidella mimetica sp. nov. Imaged from IOZ(E)2148071 A face B dorsal C habitus D labels excluding ID label. Lines represent mm. Images by Pierre Rasmont. |
Tetralonioidella mimetica Orr & Zhu, sp. nov.
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| Hypothesized examples of three-tiered mimicry systems in bees. Given are the model (top), likely host (middle), and brood parasite (bottom). System 1: likely model A Bombus lepidus worker (IOZ(E)1429818); likely host B Habropoda xizangensis male (IOZ(E)2051720); and brood parasite C Tetralonioidella himalayana male (IOZ(E)2148111). System 2: likely model D Bombus friseanus worker (IOZ(E)1429817); likely host E Habropoda mimetica female (IOZ(E)2148091); and brood parasites F Tetralonioidella tricolor male (IOZ(E)2148051) G Tetralonioidella mimetica female (IOZ(E)2148071). Note that multiple species may act as models or hosts. |
Michael C. Orr, Douglas Chesters, Paul H. Williams, Thomas J. Wood, Qingsong Zhou, Silas Bossert, Trevor Sless, Natapot Warrit, Pierre Rasmont, Guillaume Ghisbain, Mira Boustani, A’rong Luo, Yuan Feng, Ze-Qing Niu and Chao-Dong Zhu. 2024. Integrative Taxonomy of A New Species of A Bumble Bee-mimicking Brood parasitic Bee, Tetralonioidella mimetica (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Apidae), investigated through phylogenomics. Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 97: 755-780. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/jhr.97.129470
