Revision of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Austrostelis Michener and Griswold (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Megachilinae)

A taxonomic revision for the species of Austrostelis Michener and Griswold is provided. Ten species are recognized, one of which is newly described, A. saltensis Parizotto and Urban sp. nov., from Argentina. Additionally one new synonym is proposed and a lectotype for Stelis iheringi Friese, 1925 is designated. A revised diagnosis for the genus, illustrations and identification key for all species are also provided.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8397FEAE-45CB-444C-8B3C-6D706E752068     

The taxonomic identity of Anthidium fasciatellum Friese, 1917 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthidiini)

Anthidium fasciatellum, described in 1917 by Heinrich Friese on the basis of a single female, has long been regarded as a synonym of Trachusa laticeps (Morawitz, 1873). Examination of a new series of specimens from Turkey shows that the two taxa overlap in many characters, but both males and females are clearly distinct in some features of the colour pattern and in the fine structure of the mandibles. None of nine morphometric characters of the head examined alone allowed the two species to be distinguished, but in a multivariate discriminant analysis the combination of these parameters revealed conspicuous differences, especially in the shape of the head; 96.2% of all specimens could be classified correctly with the help of these metric parameters. Anthidium fasciatellum Friese, 1917 should be regarded as a valid species: Trachusa fasciatellum (Friese, 1917), comb. nov. While T. laticeps has an almost circum-Mediterranean distribution, it is replaced in the eastern Mediterranean by T. fasciatellum, which is endemic to Turkey and probably to some eastern Aegean islands of Greece. Archianthidium laticeps ssp. anatolicum Mavromoustakis, 1939, is placed as a synonym of Trachusa fasciatellum (syn. nov.).

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A new Stelis (Dolichostelis) from northern Colombia (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): first records for South America and a synopsis of the bee fauna from the Caribbean region of Colombia

The cleptoparasitic anthidiine bee genus Stelis Panzer is primarily Holarctic in distribution, extending as far south as Costa Rica. A new species of Stelis subgenus Dolichostelis Parker and Bohart is described and illustrated based on females collected in dry forests of the Caribbean region of Colombia. Stelis (Dolichostelis) costaricensis Friese is also recorded from dry forests but in western Colombia. These are the first records of the genus, as currently recognized, for South America. An updated key to the species of Dolichostelis and a synopsis of the diversity and biogeography of the bee fauna from the Caribbean region of Colombia are provided. Based on reports from the literature and data from collections, we provide a checklist consisting of 125 species in 48 genera of five families. The complex composition of this bee fauna parallels that of the flora, with taxa having the following origins or distributions: West Indian, North or Central American, Andean, xeric or temperate South American, and Neotropical widespread. A brief account on the contribution of George Salt to the knowledge of the biology of this Colombian bee fauna is also provided.