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Extracted from: Ordway E. (1966). Systematics of the Genus Augochlorella (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) North of Merxico. The University of Kansas Science Bulletin Vol. XLVI, pp. 509-624, No. 16
Description. Female: (1) Length 6 to 7 mm; head width 1.68 to 2.21 mm, averaging 1.97 mm; head usually wider than long. (2) Color bright green to dark blue; frons usually with blue reflections; metasoma often darker than head and thorax and suffused with brown. (3) Mandible with basal third dark brown, reddish brown centrally, rufous apically, without metallic reflections basally. (4) Clypeus slightly wider than long; basal half green with rather large punctures about a puncture width apart; apical half dark brown and slightly beveled, with about three to five large, often elongate punctures; surface between punctures smooth and shiny or finely reticulated at base and laterally. (5) Supraclypeal area irregularly punctate, sparsely so medially; surface between punctures usually shiny and smooth, sometimes minutely roughened and dull. (6) Paraocular area closely punctorugose below level of antennae, coarsely rugose above. (7) Antenna dark brown, flagellum slightly lighter below than above; pedicel as broad as long; first flagellar segment less than twice as wide as long. (8) Scutum with punctures variable in size and spacing, grading from distinctly and closely punctate to punctorugose, usually closer together laterally than medially; anterior margin finely roughened medially, becoming finely to coarsely rugose at anterolateral angles. (9) Tegula with length slightly greater than width, shiny, without conspicuous punctures. (10) Scutellum with small, close, irregular sized punctures, becoming indistinct in Mexican specimens. (11) Pleuron coarsely rugose, areolate anteriorly. (12) Propodeum with disc usually less than 1.5 times as long as metanotum; outline of disc broadly semicircular, profile type 3, posterior edge abruptly rounded medially, becoming gradually rounded laterally; striae variable, usually regular, fine and radiating from medial area, medially extending about three-fourths length of disc and ending gradually, laterally nearly reaching edge or extending onto vertical surface; surface beyond striae dull and granular to edge; posterior and lateral vertical surfaces finely roughened, usually with fine horizontal rugae extending from lateral to posterior surface across rounded posterolateral corners. (13) Legs brown; fore and hind coxae with strong metallic reflections; fore femur sometimes weakly metallic. (14) First metasomal tergum with anterior surface polished, sparsely and finely punctate, dull to shiny dorsally, with fine, distinct, close punctures; second tergum with fine, close punctures, surface between punctures smooth, shiny to dull; first sternum with or without metallic reflections. (15) Pubescence white on head and ventrally on thorax and metasoma, white to pale golden or dorsal parts of thorax and metasoma and on legs, golden on thorax of most Mexican specimens.
Male: (1) Length 7 to 8 mm; head width 1.66 to 2.04 mm, averaging 1.85 mm, greater than, equal to or less than length. (2) Color bright green to blue, frons with bluish reflections in all specimens; usually variably blue-green over entire body. (3) Mandible with or without metallic reflections basally. (4) Clypeus with punctures large, widely spaced, surface between punctures minutely roughened to smooth and shiny. (5) Supraclypeal area variably punctate, surface between punctures smooth and shiny or sometimes minutely reticulate and dull. (6) Paraocular area closely punctate to finely rugose. (7) Flagellum dark brown above, yellowish brown below; scape and pedicel entirely dark brown or black; last one or two flagellar segments usually slightly darker below than preceding segments; pedical as broad as long; first flagellar segment about twice as wide as long. (8) Scutum shiny with punctures distinct, variably spaced medially to parapsidal lines, closer laterally; becoming weakly rugose at lateral anterior margin. (9) Tegula less than 1.5 times as long as wide, shiny, with punctures inconspicuous or lacking. (10) Scutellum shiny, distinctly punctate, more densely so posteromedially than elsewhere. (11) Pleuron areolate anteriorly and laterally. (12) Propodeum with disc slightly longer than, to 1.5 times as long as metanotum; outline of disc semicircular, posterior edge abruptly rounded; striae coarse, irregular, wavy, not reaching edge medially, extending onto vertical surface laterally; surface of disc beyond striae narrowly smooth and shiny or slightly roughened; posterior vertical surface shiny, finely roughened or rugose; posterolateral corners with lineate, horizontal rugae extending from lateral to posterior surfaces; lateral vertical surface finely rugose with horizontallineate rugae anteriorly. (13) Legs brown, fore and hind coxae and trochanters with strong metallic reflections; femora and fore tibia weakly metallic; middle and hind tibiae and all tarsi brown; hind basitarsus with straight, erect hairs of uniform length along entire segment; these hairs almost 15 times as long as width of segment; basal tuft reduced to inconspicuous. (14) Metasomal terga green with apical margins brown; first tergum polished with fine, widdy scattered punctures anteriorly, smooth but less shiny dorsally with punctures small and close together; second tergum minutdy to indistinctly punctate; sterna brown, occasionally suffused with black, pubescence short and fine, evenly distributed; first sternum with weak metallic reflections; second through sixth sterna with apical margins straight. (IS) Pubescence white over entire body to golden in some Mexican specimens. (16) Genital capsule of type 4 (Figs. 37-38); inner lobe of gonostylus long and thin with blunt apex, bearing 3 to S stout setae; posterior edge of lobe with setae vari- able in size and number; setae on outer lobe (b Fig. 27) usually branched; seventh tergum type 2 (Fig. 46); seventh and eighth sterna type 1 as figured (Fig. 40).
Comparisons. Most neglectula can be distinguished from all other North
American species of Augochlorella by the fine radiating striae that extend only about three-quarters of the way across the propodeal disc, by the rugose nature of the posterior propodeal surface, by the blue areas on the frons, and by the shape of the inner lobe of the male gonostylus. In addition to these characters, it differs from pomoniella by the usually close, deep, often contiguous scutal punctures giving the scutum a rough or even rugose appearance. In pomoniella the scutum is smooth with distinct, widdy spaced punctures. The legs, especially the trochanters and femora, are more uniformly brown in neglectula than in pomoniella. In most specimens there are no distinct posterolateral corners to the propodeum (Fig. 70) or if there are, they are weak. The corners are rardy polished and shiny as in pomoniella but usually are traversed by horizontal rugae extending from the lateral to posterior surfaces. This character will also distinguish neglectula from striata when the striae of the disc of neglectula become coarser and less strongly radiating than usual. Males can be easily distinguished from striata on the basis of the fourth sternum and genitalia.
A truer picture of the relationships of neglectula to the other North American species of Augochlorella must necessarily wait until a study is made of the Mexican, Central and South American species of the genus with which it is possibly more closely rdated. It has no close affinities with Pereirapis and among the species from the United States is most similar to pomoniella. A. neglectula and pomoniella may look similar in areas where their ranges overlap but there is no evidence of genic exchange since the features of each species are maintained. There is a similar resemblance in a few individuals to striata but in all such cases also, neglectula maintains its identity.
Variation. Populations of neglectula in Arizona show the greatest amount of variation, particularly in the degree of thoracic roughness. Females are more variable than males.
There is not much difference in size among individuals from different areas of the range although the mean head width of females is largest in Mexico (1.99 mm) and smallest in Texas (1.85 mm). The width of the head is less variable in males, but no trends can be described due to the meager samples available from most areas.
The supraclypeal area is shiny in most males and females from the United States but is rarely polished or brilliant. It may be entirely punctate or, more frequently, sparsely punctate medially, more densely so laterally. In many of the Mexican females, as in some Mexican pomoniella, the supraclypeal area is dull due to minute reticulations on the integumental surface. This dullness extends onto the basal area of the clypeus and over the scutum, and the brown color on the apex of the clypeus extends in a narrow medial line to the base of the clypeus. In no case is the clypeus entirely brown. But unlike pomoniella, other less dull or even shiny neglectula sometimes show this same variation of clypeal coloration. The dull specimens may be found throughout the range of Mexican neglectula from March to September. The supraclypeal area of the males is rarely dull even though it may be coarsely punctured. The minute fine reticulations were found on only three out of 42 males from Arizona (from Yuma, Cochise and Pima Counties) and on four out of 18 Mexican individuals (from Chihuahua, San Luis PotosI, Durango and Guerrero). Although the roughening may extend onto the cly- peus, it does not appear on the scutum and the dullness is considerably less striking than on the females. The female holotype of Augochlora dimissa from Victoria, Mexico, shows this dull condition although in every other respect appears to be a normal Mexican neglectula. Since there is no apparent morphological difference associated with this condition and no geographical pattern or even distinct population of dull individuals, there is no basis for recognizing this variant either as a species or subspecies. Although the blue patch on the frons is characteristic of this species, in many Mexican females the blue area is obscure and can only be found with difficulty. It is not found at all in the Mexican subspecies maritima.
The punctures of the scutum are distinct with their diameters about equal to the spaces between them in about half the males (40 specimens) from all parts of the range, but are close, deep, and contiguous or form a rugose surface in the other half (37 specimens). The scutum is coarsely and closely punctured in females (except for six females from Arizona which have the punctures more widely spaced).
There IS considerable variation in the nature of the propodeal area, especially in specimens from Arizona. In the females, the Mexican specimens show the typical negleetula pattern with fine, straight, radiating striae on the disc, often reaching the posterior medial edge of the disc. The horizontal rugae are rarely present on the posterior and lateral surfaces of the propodeum but these surfaces are rough and dull. When the striae are larger or less fine the rugae are present posterolaterally. "Typical" negleetula are also found in Arizona but individuals occasionally may resemble either pomoniella or striata. Those similar to pomoniella [10 out of 57 specimens from the Santa Catalina Mts. (1*), and two out of five specimens from Globe (9)] have short striae that are finer than found on the usual pomoniellao The posterolateral corners are weak and the edge of the disc is shinier than usual, but the polished surface does not extend onto the vertical sides. All these specimens have horizontal rugae on the posterior surface. Those that resemble striata have coarser striae than normal, often reaching almost to the posterior margin of the disc, but in all cases the vertical surfaces are rough with well defined horizontal rugae. Such specimens were found commonly in New Mexico and Texas although the rugae are often less distinct in Texan specimens. None of the specimens from New Mexico or Texas resembles pomoniella.
In males, the striae of the disc are variable in thickness but generally rather coarse. In 10 of the 42 males from Arizona and 3 of the 18 Mexican males (Zacatecas, Chihuahua and "Guadalupe"), the propodeum resembled that of pomoniella, having shiny, smooth posterolateral corners and smoother vertical surfaces than is normal for negleetula, with the horizontal rugae indistinct or absent. Punctures on the propodeum were distinct although close and coarse so that the roughened character of negleetula is maintained in these specimens.
The inner lobe of the gonostylus of the male genitalia is rather constant in shape but variable in the number and character of the setae it bears on its outer edge. These setae may number two or three and be short, very thin and flaccid (Fig. 37), but may vary to long, thick, heavily sclerotized and up to 14 in number. When the larger number are present the series is con- tinuous with the setae at the apex of the lobe, with one or two weaker setae between those on the posterior and apical margins (Fig. 39). If the setae are weak, there is usually a space between those of the two series (Fig. 38). As the setae become longer and thicker the lobe itself becomes shorter and broader. All intermediate conditions occur between the two extremes, and all forms apparently occur throughout the range. No correlation has been found between these genitalic differences and external morphological variaion. In no case does the inner lobe look similar to that of any other species here considered.
The outer lobe of the gonostylus bears long, fine, branched or unbranched setae. Branched hairs cannot be correlated with either locality or external morphological variation.
The Guatemalan and Panamian specimens look like those from Mexico.
Extracted from: Coelho, B. W. T., 2004. A review of the bee genus Augochlorella (Hymenoptera: Halictidae: Augochlorini). Systematic Entomology, Vol. 29. 282-323.
Female. Structure. (3) Head wider than long, head length
to width ratio 1.08–1.13 vezes; slightly longer than wide
(1.02 vezes) (Guerrero); (4) elevation of labrum with apex
orbicular, protuberant and diameter about 1/3 of upper
margin length of labrum; (5) F10 about 2.3 length of F1;
(6) preoccipital ridge carinate; (13) tegula about 1.6 longer
than wide; about twice as long as wide (Guerrero). Sculpture. (17) Mesoscutum with surface between punctures reticulate in central area; (19) tegula surface without conspicuous
puncture; distinctly and closely punctate (Guerrero); (25)
anterior surface of T1 with minute punctures separated by
2–3 puncture widths, and scattered coarser hair bases,
ground between punctures smooth; (26) dorsal surface of
T1 with fine punctures separated by about 2 puncture
widths, surface between punctures usually transversely lineolate. Colour. (28) apical half of clypeus brown; apical
third of clypeus brown (Guerrero).
Male. Structure. (3) Head usually wider than long; head
length to width ratio 1.05–1.12, slightly longer than wide
(1.02) (Guerrero); (5) antenna reaching about to scutellum;
short, not reaching median ocellus; F1 1.4–1.5 as wide as
long and longer than F2; F2 twice as wide as long; F3
slightly longer than F1; F4 longer than F3; F5 longer than
F4; F6 about 1.2 length of F5; F7 about 1.2 length of
F6; F7 approximately equal to F8, F9 and F10, about 1.6
as long as wide; F11 about 3 length of F1; (19) tegula
about 1.6 as long as wide, about twice as long as wide
(Guerrero); (39m) apical margin of S8 with median process,
with 2 or without apical setae; (40m) apical margin of S7
with median process, with 5, 2 or without apical setae.
Genitalia. (41m) gonobasal dorsal lobes strongly projecting
over gonocoxites; (42m) parapenial lobes absent; (43m)
basal process of gonostylus absent; (44m) inner lobe of
ventral gonostylus with projection divided, bearing row of
8–11 flattened setae distributed on straight margin and on
inner extremity, sometimes only few setae on straight margin; (46m) dorsal process of gonostylus sclerotized, lobe
divided into two side bifurcate projections, superior ones
and inferior one short, inferior long one with spines; (47m)
penis valve slightly expanded laterally, longitudinal dorsal
ridge apical to dorsal depression; (48m) volsella with triangular basal area longer than apical. Colour. (28) clypeus
with creamy distal corners.
Distribution. From the southern half of Arizona and
south-western New Mexico into Big Bend and southern
Texas, southward through Mexico; also from Guatemala,
Panama and Colombia (Fig. 17).
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