Augochloropsis (Glyptobasia) bertonii

Augochloropsis (Glyptobasia) bertonii (Schrottky, 1909) (Figs 1A, C, D, F; 2A–C, E–F; 3; 4; 5; 6) Augochlora bertonii Schrottky, 1909: 148. Female syntypes, Paraguay: Alto Paraná, Puerto Bertoni (whereabouts unknown). Augochlora chloera Moure, 1940: 49. Holotype female, Brazil: São Paulo, Juquiá (DZUP, examined). New synonymy. Diagnosis. Females of A. bertonii are distinguished from those of A. aenea sp. nov., by the combination of traits of the metapostnotum, with apical margin truncated, giving it a trapezoidal shape, strongly depressed, and entirely delimited by strong marginal carina (Figs. 1F, 3C). Additional features as pronotum with dorsolateral angle slightly notched, produced as a weak acute corner (Figs. 1A; 2C, red arrows); mesoscutum with open (1–2 PD) large punctures (Figs. 1A; 2C) (smaller and denser (<1 PD) in A. aenea sp. nov.) and a bright metallic green, blue or violet coloration (dark coppery in A. aenea sp. nov.) (Figs. 3–4) also characterize this species. Male with green or bluish violet body color (Figs. 5–6), with metapostnotum strongly depressed and S4 without lateral process (male from A. aenea sp. nov. not know). Remarks. This species is interpreted here as exhibiting variation in body color that for a long time led it to be considered as two different species, A. bertonii and A. chloera. We concluded based on the observation of 172 specimens that it represents a polymorphic species with a bright green color morph (previously named as A. chloera) (Figs. 4–5) and a violet, with blue-green reflections, color morph (named as A. bertonii) (Figs. 3, 6). Schrottky’s (1909) Augochlora bertonii was based on female syntypes described as having a ‘cyanea’ (Latin for dark-blue) body coloration, and with a ‘violaceo–micante’ (Latin for blue-violet) metasoma, from Puerto Bertoni, in Paraguay. Moure’s (1940) Augochlora chloera was based on a female from Juquiá, São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil, with an entirely bright green coloration. Although Moure (1940) pointed out the similarity between his A. chloera and A. bertonii, he limited the differences between them only to their integumental coloration when proposing a new subgenus for this lineage, Glyptobasis, and placed these two species as the sole members of his new taxon. Since then, the two names have been used as referring to separate species in the literature (Moure & Hurd 1987; Moure 2007; Santos 2014; Celis & Cure 2017; Gonçalves et al. 2022). Our hypothesis suggests a variation with respect to body color in A. bertonii, which ranges from violet with blue reflections to green (see Variation section), the most common morph corresponding to the violet form, 71% (n=123) of the examined material. This violet morph exhibits head and mesosoma bright dark green, with bluish-green to violet reflections, combined with a predominantly violet metasoma (Fig. 3), strongly contrasting with the entirely metallic green coloration shown by the second morph, which represents 28% (n=49) of the examined specimens (Fig. 4). We also observed that four males from Rio de Janeiro (Itatiaia), Paraná (Curitiba), Rio Grande do Sul (Canela) and Santa Catarina States (Orleans) exhibit a bright green body coloration (Fig. 5), corresponding to this second morph, with only two males from Rio de Janeiro (Itatiaia) and Bahia States (no specific location) exhibiting a blue-violet body coloration (Fig. 6). This intraspecific polychromatism hypothesis is also reinforced by the additional morphological characters shared between both morphs: general body sculpturing, with coarse dense punctures, especially in mesoscutum; metapostnotum and vertical posterior surface of propodeum delimited by a carina and with strong depressed surface. Also, the morphological details of the male genital capsule and metasomal sterna did not exhibit differences. Augochloropsis bertonii, was originally reported from Paraguay (Alto Paraná Department) and Brazil (Paraná State), but it can also be found in the Brazilian States of Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul in the Atlantic Forest. New records for this species include the Bahia and Santa Catarina States. Both green and violet color morphs extend parallel throughout the entire geographic distribution of the species, from the Rio Grande do Sul to Espírito Santo States, except for the violet morph that extends further north to the Bahia State (Fig. 8). It should be noted that the violet form occurs more frequently in high areas from Atlantic Forest, while the green form prevails on the coast. However, the localities corresponding to the violet and green morphs are very close, and both morphs can be found together in several states, in particular in Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná and Santa Catarina, although, we have not seen the two morphs occurring in the same locality. Redescription (violet morph). ♀. Measurements (based on five specimens). Head width: 2.77–2.97 (x̅ =2.90); head length: 1.49–1.75 (x̅ =1.58); clypeus width: 1.39–1.58 (x̅ =1.49); clypeus length: 0.73–0.83 (x̅ =0.75); eye notch width: 0.66–0.76 (x̅ =0.71); supraclypeal length: 0.40–0.43 (x̅ =0.42); alveolo-ocellar distance: 0.63–0.76 (x̅ =0.69); intertegular distance: 2.11– 2.41 (x̅ =2.30); T1 maximum width: 2.97–3.73 (x̅ =3.40); T2 maximum width: 3.10–3.89 (x̅ =3.60); body length: 9.40–10.80 (x̅ =9.96). Coloration. Mandible brown. Lower paraocular area bluish violet. Frons violet, differing from the remaining greenish blue on most of face in frontal view. Supraclypeal area violet. Clypeus bluish violet with apical semicircular black spot, delimited by weak golden reflections.Genal area bluish green.Scape black.Flagellum brown.Mesoscutum, scutellum and metanotum blackish dull violet. Tegula bluish violet. Mesepisternum and metepisternum green with violet reflections. Propodeum green, violet reflections on lateral surfaces; metapostnotum and lateral angles violet. Fore wing membrane mostly hyaline, apical one-third light brown infumated; pterostigma and venation brown. Hind wing membrane mostly hyaline; apical margin iridescent. Fore, mid and hind legs brown; external surface of tibiae bluish green; tarsi brown; tibial spurs testaceous. T1–T4 mostly violet. Exposed dorsal surface of T5 and pseudopygidial area black. S1–S4 greenish. S5 and S6 brown. Pubescence. Body mostly covered by dark pubescence dorsally and pale yellowish ventrally. Compound eye with minute hairs. Dorsal margin of mandible with pale yellow bristles. Apical margin of clypeus with row of very long (2–2.5 OD) pale yellow bristles, entire surface covered by long pale yellow bristles. Supraclypeal area with dense, long, yellow setae, intermixed with darker setae; apical third with shorter scattered setae. Lower paraocular area with long (1.5–2 OD), erect, yellow setae, intermixed with darker setae. Frons with very short (<1 OD) yellow setae. Vertex with long (1 OD) darkened setae. Lower gena with long (1.5–2.5 OD), scarce, yellow setae. Scape with short (≤1 OD) yellow setae in the basal region, shorter bristles towards the distal region. F1–F10 setose with white sensilla. Pronotal lobe mostly with white setae. Mesoscutum with short (1 OD), dense, erect, dark setae. Scutellum covered with erect, long (1.5–2 OD), dark setae, intermixed with more erect, longer (3–3.5 OD), dark bristles. Metanotum covered by white tomentose setae, intermixed with erect, long (1.5–2 OD), yellowish setae. Propodeum lateral surface covered by white tomentose setae, intermixed with longer (1.5–2 OD), white setae; posterior vertical surface with short (1–1.5 OD), erect, yellow setae; metapostnotum glabrous. Fore wing with sparse black microtrichia. External margin of coxa, trochanter and femur of fore leg with very long (2.5–4 OD) pale yellow setae, shorter setae (1.5–4 OD) on mid leg, inner margin glabrous. Tibiae and tarsi of fore and mid legs covered mostly by yellow setae, denser in the inner surfaces, external surfaces intermixed with dark bristles. Mesofemoral brush of mid leg yellow. Coxa and trochanter of hind leg with short white setae; femur and inner surface of tibia with long, plumose, white setae, forming a scopa; external surface of tibia with erect, thick, long (1–2 OD) black bristles, basitarsus with dark setae on external surface; denser yellow bristles on inner surface, mediotarsus and disitarsus entirely covered by yellow bristles. Anterior and lateral margins of T1 covered with long (1.5–2 OD) white setae; dorsal surface with scattered, shorter, white bristles. Dorsal surfaces of T2 and T3 covered mostly by long (1.5–2 OD), dense, dark bristles, intermixed with white bristles. Dorsal surface of T4 covered by white tomentose setae, intermixed with long (1.5–2 OD), dense, dark bristles very conspicuous in lateral view. Marginal zones of T1 and T2 minutely hairy; with dense white tomentose setae on T3 and T4. Exposed dorsal surface of T5 and pseudopygidial area covered by erect dark bristles. Posterior margins of T1 and T2 with inconspicuous, short (≤1 OD), uniformly distributed yellowish vibrissae. Discs of S1–S6 with long, dense, yellowish setae, weakly recurved apically. Sculpture. Clypeus punctate,with dense coarse punctures on basal and lateral margins;integument microtessellate in between; crowded centrally. Supraclypeal area with dense coarse punctures; microreticulate in the apical third. Frons with open coarse punctures. Mesoscutum with open large punctures on disc, integument microtessellate in between; crowded large punctures on anterior and lateral margins. Tegula microtessellate on inner and posterior margin, intermixed with some sparse coarse punctures, smooth on central region. Scutellum with open large punctures. Metanotum with dense coarse punctures. Lateral angle of propodeum smooth; posterior vertical surface with sparse fine punctures. Metapostnotum with weak microreticulation over its entire surface. Dorsal surfaces and marginal zones of T1–T4