+Moure's Bee Catalogue

Frieseomelitta meadewaldoi (Cockerell, 1915)
Common Name: "moça-branca"

Trigona dorsalis Smith, F. (1863). Descriptions of Brazilian Honey Bees belonging to the Genera Melipona and Trigona, which were exhibited, together with Samples of their Honey and Wax, in the Brazilian Court of the International Exhibition of 1862. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 11: 497-512 [510] (junior homonym of Trigona dorsalis Smith, 1854) .
Type data: lectotype BMNH <F> worker, paralectotype whereabouts unknown <F> workers (9) (probably in BMNH) , paralectotype USNM 54952 <F> worker (1) (the same specimen labeled as type of <I>Trigona meadewaldoi </I>by Cockerell, number 54952) .
Type locality: Brazil [no specification].

Trigona meadewaldoi Cockerell, T. D. A (1915). The real Trigona dorsalis Smith rediscovered (Hym.). Entomol. News 26: 30-32 [32] (nom. nov. for Trigona dorsalis Smith, 1863, non Smith, 1854. Cockerell, 1915, examined a "supposed co-type, one of Smith's own specimens" (in USNM, labeled as type 54952) which corresponded exactly to description by Smith, 1863: 510 (supposedly from Brazil)) .

Remarks

We have found considerable inconsistent information on the designation of the lectotype of Trigona dorsalis Smith, 1863 by Oliveira et al. (2011) which led us to keep the identity of Frieseomelitta meadewaldoi according to our previous interpretation, namely based on the specimen studied by Cockerell (1915; Acc. 54952, barcode 00534509 deposited in USNM). The description presented by Smith (1863) definitely does not match the specimen designed as “lectotype” by Oliveira et al. (2011), mainly if considered the difference in wing color and the fact that the “lectotype” lacks the head. Given the incomplete nature of the specimen, the authors interpreted the “lectotype” based on Frieseomelitta francoi whose pale marks on the head are different from those described by Smith. On the other hand, contrarily to what was asserted by those authors, the specimen in USNM perfectly match with the description, which can be confirmed by the photographs available at . Another important point is the legitimacy of the specimen considered by Oliveira et al. (2011), since there is no unambiguously evidence that it is as a true syntype of Trigona dorsalis Smith, 1863, mainly if considered the discrepancies between the supposed syntype and the description, as well as the explicit statement by Smith (1863: 499-500) that “…when describing the species in the present Paper, I was supplied with ten examples of each; …”. The main implication in considering the specimen in USNM as the lectotype is that Frieseomelitta doederleini (Friese, 1900), as interpreted by Oliveira (2003), and F. meadewaldoi become synonyms. However, in this update of the Moure's Bee Catalogue, we are temporarily considering both as valid names, until the designation of the specimen in USNM as lectotype is published, since the article by Cockerell (1915) does not meet the requirements demanded by the Code of Zoological Nomenclature (article 74.5) to be considered as a valid lectotype designation.

Distribution

Neotropical Region: Brazil (Pernambuco [Caetés, Paranatama, Pedra, Venturosa])

References

Santos, E.J., Vieira, A.G.T., Oliveira, R.F., Teixeira, G.S.S., Oliveira, F.F. & Araújo, M.S.L.C. (2020). Abelhas (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) em uma área de Caatinga no estado de Pernambuco. Biodivers. 19 (3): 92-103 [96] (Distribution)
Smith, F. (1863). Descriptions of Brazilian Honey Bees belonging to the Genera Melipona and Trigona, which were exhibited, together with Samples of their Honey and Wax, in the Brazilian Court of the International Exhibition of 1862. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 11: 497-512 [504, 510] (as Trigona dorsalis, folk name: "moça-branca", diagnosis, description)

How to cite this page
J. M. F. Camargo, S. R. M. Pedro & G. A. R. Melo, 2023. Meliponini Lepeletier, 1836. In Moure, J. S., Urban, D. & Melo, G. A. R. (Orgs). Catalogue of Bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical Region - online version. Available at https://www.moure.cria.org.br/catalogue. Accessed Oct/18/2024

Online since: 23 Jul 2008
Last update : 17 Jul 2023