The bees of Lebanon (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila).

The study of wild bees has markedly increased in recent years due to their importance as pollinators of crops and wild plants, and this interest has been accentuated by increasing evidence of global declines in their abundance and species richness. Though best studied in Europe and North America, knowledge on the current state of wild bees is scarce in regions where they are particularly diversified, such as the Mediterranean basin. The eastern Mediterranean country of Lebanon, located at the heart of the Levant in a biodiversity hotspot, is particularly poorly studied. The aim of this paper is to produce a first annotated checklist of the wild bees of Lebanon from new and museum collections, literature records, and verified occurrences from online databases. The present list totals 573 species for Lebanon of which 289 are reported for the first time, but the estimated diversity is likely to be closer to 700. Preliminary information on local distributions and flower records are also presented. The local species assemblages indicate affinities with montane habitats of the Mediterranean and Anatolia and the semi-arid habitats of the Levant and north Africa. This study also encourages further research on local wild bee faunas and the use of this knowledge for conservation purposes.

The wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Morocco.

Morocco is a well known hot-spot of biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin. While some taxa like vascular plants are relatively well recorded, important groups of pollinators like bees are still understudied. This article presents an updated checklist of the bee species of Morocco and includes a summary of global and regional distribution of each species. A total of 961 species belonging to six bee families and 68 genera are recorded: Andrenidae (8 genera, 217 species); Apidae (15 genera, 241 species); Colletidae (2 genera, 74 species), Halictidae (12 genera, 144 species), Megachilidae (28 genera, 271 species) and Melittidae (3 genera, 14 species). Among them, 67 species are recorded for the first time in Morocco. Around 70% of the bee fauna of Morocco consists of widespread Palaearctic species. Only 18% of Moroccan species recorded are restricted to North Africa and 8% are Moroccan single-country endemics (81 species). Afrotropical elements in the Moroccan fauna are few, with only 3% of Morocco species co-occuring in that region. This checklist is intended to stimulate new regional research on bees including their taxonomy and biogeography. As many groups of bees have been understudied, discovery of new species for science and new records for the country can be expected. Additional research including inventorying, monitoring, and integrative taxonomic studies are needed to develop a comprehensive strategy for bee conservation in Morocco.

The genus Hylaeus Fabricius in Central Asia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Colletidae).

All presently available information about bees of the genus Hylaeus F. in Central Asia is summarized. Seventy species are currently known from this area. Ten new species are described: Hylaeus gissariensis Dathe Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (Tajikistan), H. karagandicus Dathe Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (Kazakhstan), H. kirgisicus Dathe Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (Kyrgyzstan), H. klausnitzeri Dathe Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (Kyrgyzstan), H. michaelis Dathe Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (Kyrgyzstan), H. murgabensis Dathe Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (Tajikistan), H. pamirensis Dathe Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (Tajikistan), H. petzi Dathe Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (Tajikistan), H. piotris Dathe Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan), and H. rushanicus Dathe Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan). In addition, the male of H. punctiventris Morawitz, 1876 is described for the first time.-Twenty species are newly recorded from Central Asia: Hylaeus alexandrinus (Warncke, 1992), H. annulatus (Linnaeus, 1758), H. araxanus (Warncke, 1981), H. brevicornis Nylander, 1852, H. cardioscapus Cockerell, 1924, H. dorni Dathe, 1986, H. gredleri Förster, 1871, H. kozlovi Dathe Proshchalykin, 2016, H. leleji Proshchalykin Dathe, 2016, H. lineolatus (Schenck, 1861), H. longimaculus (Alfken, 1936), H. mellon Dathe Proshchalykin, 2016, H. meridionalis Förster, 1871, H. moricei (Friese, 1898), H. nimbatus Dathe, 1986, H. paulus Bridwell, 1919, H. pesenkoi Proshchalykin Dathe, 2016, H. rugicollis Morawitz, 1874, H. stubbei Dathe, 1986 and H. tsingtauensis (Strand, 1915).-New synonymy has been established for Hylaeus arenarius Morawitz, 1876 (= Prosopis cinerea Warncke, 1992, syn. nov.), Hylaeus ferghanicus Morawitz, 1876 (= H. kuhlmanni Dathe, 2010, syn. nov.) and Hylaeus punctiventris Morawitz, 1876 (= H. atrocallosus Morawitz, 1893, syn. nov.). Hylaeus (Nesoprosopis) alexandrinus (Warncke, 1992) and Hylaeus (Prosopis) stellatus (Warncke, 1992) are introduced as new combinations.-Keys to most species known from Central Asia are provided.

In the footsteps of history: the bees of the genus Hylaeus Fabricius (Hymenoptera, Apoidea: Colletidae) collected by V.I. Roborovsky and P.K. Kozlov in Northwest China (1895-1926).

An annotated list of 19 species of Hylaeus collected by the famous Russian explorers and travellers V.I. Roborovsky and P.K. Kozlov in Northwest China (1895-1926) is given. Hylaeus (Hylaeus) roborovskyi Proshchalykin Dathe, sp. nov. is described as new from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The following eight known species are newly recorded from China: Hylaeus angustatus (Schenck, 1861), H. arenarius Morawitz, 1876, H. breviceps Morawitz, 1876, H. communis Nylander, 1852, H. fedtschenkoi (Cockerell, 1906), H. pallidicornis Morawitz, 1876, H. pesenkoi Proshchalykin Dathe, 2016, and H. vulgaris Morawitz, 1876, increasing the number of species reported from the region to 48. New synonymy is established for Hylaeus tsingtauensis (Strand, 1915) = H. montivagus Dathe, 1986, syn. nov.

Type revision of Asiatic bees of the genus Hylaeus F. described by Ferdinand Morawitz (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Colletidae).

The type specimens of the bee genus Hylaeus Fabricius, 1793 described by Ferdinand Morawitz from Asia and deposited in the Zoological Museum of the Moscow State University and in the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences St. Petersburg, are critically reviewed. Precise information with illustrations of types for 39 taxa is provided. New synonymy is established for Hylaeus incongruus Förster, 1871 (= H. biareolatus Morawitz, 1876, syn. nov.); H. breviceps Morawitz, 1876 (= H. bivittatus Morawitz, 1876, syn. nov.); H. punctiscapus Morawitz, 1876 (= H. citrinipes Morawitz, 1893, syn. nov.); H. dolichocephalus Morawitz, 1876 (=Prosopis heliaca Warncke, 1992, syn. nov.); H. laticeps Morawitz, 1876 (= H. nigritarsis Morawitz, 1876, syn. nov.); H. medialis Morawitz, 1890 (= H. bimaculatus Chen & Xu, 2013, syn. nov.). Lectotypes are here designated for the following six nominal taxa: Hylaeus citrinipes Morawitz, 1893, H. flavipes Morawitz, 1876, H. ibex Morawitz, 1877, H. punctiventris Morawitz, 1876, H. trisignatus Morawitz, 1876, and H. turanicus Morawitz, 1876.

The bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of the Maltese Islands.

This study presents the first checklist of the bees of the Maltese Islands and includes notes on the distribution of each species. A total of 95 species belonging to five bee families are recorded: Andrenidae (17 species), Apidae (34 species), Colletidae (6 species), Halictidae (15 species) and Megachilidae (23 species). Lasioglossum callizonium (Pérez, 1896) is recorded for the first time from the Maltese Islands. Records of three previously reported species are listed as dubious. The bee fauna of the Maltese Archipelago is dominated by widespread West-Palaearctic species, and most of the species recorded are also found in the Western Mediterranean Basin. Bees that have been recorded from Malta are also known from Southern Europe. The study provides a biogeographical analysis of the Maltese bee fauna, and discusses the conservation of this group and their important role in the delivery of ecosystem services in the Maltese Islands.

Additional records of the genus Hylaeus Fabricius, 1793 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Colletidae) from Siberia, with description of a new species.

As a supplement to a previously published study on Siberian Hylaeus species, we here report further records of twenty six rarely collected and little known species. Thirty two species are currently known from Siberia, including Hylaeus dorni Dathe, 1986, H. gredleri Förster, 1871, H. hungaricus (Alfken, 1905), H. moricei (Friese, 1898), H. nimbatus Dathe, 1986, H. oehlkei Dathe, 2010 and H. stubbei Dathe, 1986, which are reported from Russia for the first time, and H. brevicornis Nylander, 1852, H. communis Nylander, 1852, H. pfankuchi (Alfken, 1919) and H. styriacus Förster, 1871, which are newly recorded from Siberia. Hylaeus (Hylaeus) pesenkoi Proshchalykin & Dathe, sp. nov. is described as new from Siberia (Altai Republic and Tyva Republic) and neighbouring Mongolia (Khovd and Govi-Altai Aimags). The females of H. dorni Dathe, 1986 and H. oehlkei Dathe, 2010 are described for the first time; H. peregrinus Dathe, 1986 was recognised as the female of H. stubbei Dathe, 1986 and is treated as a new synonym.

The genus Hylaeus Fabricius in Mongolia, an updated species inventory (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Colletidae).

Since the last inventory of Hylaeus species of Mongolia (Dathe 1986a) extensive new collections have been evaluated. An updated checklist of 38 species of Hylaeus so far known from Mongolia is provided, with comments on their biogeographical assignment. Two new species, Hylaeus (Hylaeus) kozlovi sp. n. and Hylaeus (Hylaeus) mellon sp. n., are described. Hylaeus albitarsis Morawitz, 1887 (= H. fuliginosus Warncke, 1972) has been ascertained as a synonym of Hylaeus (Hylaeus) pusillus (Warncke, 1972). The following nine known species are newly recorded from Mongolia: H. (Dentigera) pallidicornis Morawitz, 1876, H. (Hylaeus) aborigensis Dathe, 1994, H. (Hylaeus) angustatus (Schenck, 1861), H. (Hylaeus) fedtschenkoi (Cockerell, 1906), H. (Hylaeus) oblitus (Warncke, 1972), H. (Hylaeus) vulgaris Morawitz, 1876, H. (Lambdopsis) pfankuchi (Alfken, 1919), H. (Nesoprosopis) pectoralis Förster, 1871, H. (Patagiata) nigrocuneatus Cockerell, 1924.

Studies on the systematics and taxonomy of the genus Hylaeus F. (8) Revision of the Afrotropic subgenus Hylaeus (Deranchylaeus) Bridwell (Hymenoptera: Anthophila, Colletidae).

The Afrotropic subgenus Deranchylaeus; of the colletid bee genus Hylaeus is revised for the first time on the basis of all the available type material. Here, 28 new synonymies were detected: Prosopis flaviscutum Alfken and Hylaeus graaffi Cockerell = H. curvicarinatus (Cameron); H. microstictus Cockerell = dregei (Strand); H. bequaertianus Bridwell and H. ogilviei Cockerell = H. gabonicus (Vachal); P. immarginata Alfken and H. abjunctus Cockerell = H. krebsianus (Strand); H. absonulus Cockerell and H. reditus Cockerell = H. lightfooti Bridwell; H. subreditus Cockerell = H. lineaticeps (Friese); H. tinctulus extensicornis Cockerell = H. perater Cockerell; P. corpana Warncke and H. rhodognathus Cockerell = H. promontorii Meade-Waldo; P. atriceps Friese, P. atriceps var. major Strand, H. sanctus Cockerell, H. sublucens Cockerell, H. varians Cockerell, H. tenuis var. dominae Cockerell, H. punctiferus Cockerell, P. totana Warncke and H. multifarius Eardley & Urban = H. robertianus (Cameron); H. simulans Cockerell = H. rugipunctus (Alfken); H. simplex (Bingham), H. simplior Meade-Waldo, H. perdensus Cockerell and P. postica Warncke = H. tenuis (Alfken); H. kasindensis Cockerell = H. xanthostoma (Alfken). Lectotypes were designated for Prosopis alfkeni Friese, P. atriceps Friese, P. curvicarinata Cameron, P. flaviscutum Alfken, P. gabonica Vachal, P. rugipuncta Alfken, P. tenuis Alfken and P. xanthostoma Alfken. The following 12 new species are described: H. (Deranchylaeus) amharicus sp. n. ♀; bernhardi sp. n. ♂; camerunensis sp. n. ♂♀; chimani sp. n. ♂; eardleyi sp. n. ♂♀; gessianus sp. n. ♂♀; izikosalis sp. n. ♀; nottoni sp. n. ♀; oromialis sp. n. ♂♀; pamelae sp. n. ♀; paulyi sp. n. ♂♀ and venustus sp. n. ♂. Keys for the identification of males and females of all species are provided.