RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Tapinoma Foerster belongs to the ant subfamily Dolichoderinae and the vast majority of its species are arboreal or generalised foragers. The genus is composed of 70 described species, 22 known subspecies and six valid fossil species worldwide, while from the Arabian Peninsula, three species have been recorded so far. NEW INFORMATION: Ants of the genus Tapinoma of the Arabian Peninsula are reviewed, keyed and illustrated, based on the worker caste. Three species are diagnosed, T. melanocephalum (Fabricius, 1793), T. simrothi Krausse, 1911 and T. wilsoni Sharaf & Aldawood, 2012. We present the first illustrated key to the Arabian Tapinoma, enhanced by automontage images to facilitate species recognition. New distributional data for species are presented, based on recently-collected material from the region and literature records. Information on habitats' preference and biology of species are given.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: This study systematically catalogues all known taxa of the family Stratiomyidae in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. It is one in a series of planned studies aiming to catalogue the whole order in both countries. NEW INFORMATION: Twenty species, belonging to seven genera and three subfamilies (Pachygastrinae, Stratiomyinae and Nemotelinae), are treated. One of these genera, Oplodontha and two species, Oplodontha pulchriceps Loew and Oxycera turcica Üstüner & Hasbenli, are recorded herein for the first time from Saudi Arabia. A lectotype for Nemotelus matrouhensis Mohammad et al., 2009 is designated. An updated classification, synonymies, type localities, world and local distributions, dates of collection and some coloured photographs are provided.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The present study is one in a series of planned studies aiming to catalogue the whole order Diptera in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia. NEW INFORMATION: All known Egyptian and Saudi Arabian conopid taxa are systematically catalogued in the present study. Three species are recorded herein for the first time from Saudi Arabia: Conops (Asiconops) elegans Meigen, 1804 and Thecophora atra (Fabricius, 1775) (Al-Baha region, south-western of Saudi Arabia), and Conops (Conops) quadrifasciatus De Geer, 1776 (Tabuk region, north-western of Saudi Arabia). Physocephala variegata (Meigen, 1924) is also recorded for the first time from Gebel Elba, the south-eastern triangle of Egypt. Considering that Gebel Elba in Egypt and Al-Baha in Saudi Arabia are affiliated to the Afrotropical Region, this is the first time Physocephala variegata and Thecophora atra have been recorded from the Afrotropical Region. An updated taxonomy, world and local distributions, dates of collection and some coloured photographs are provided.
