Andrenidae - Meliturgula

author(s) : S. Patiny

Sébastien Patiny

Atlas of the European Bees: genus Meliturgula

First on line 1.III.2012

This page is constructed in the framework of the STEP project
Status and Trends of European Pollinators
Coordinator: Simon Geoffrey Potts, University of Reading

STEP Partners to Objective 1 (Document the status and trends of pollinators, map distributions):
University of Mons (Prof. Pierre Rasmont; Denis Michez; Stephanie Iserbyt; Yvan Barbier)
University of Reading (Stuart Roberts)

For this first 1.III.2012 PROVISIONAL VERSION, ...

Sébastien Patiny

Citation:
Patiny S. 2012. Atlas of the European Bees: genus Meliturgula. STEP Project, Atlas Hymenoptera, Mons, Gembloux. http://www.zoologie.umh.ac.be//hymenoptera/page.aspx?ID=32

Meliturgula Friese, 1903

European bees

Meliturgula (Meliturgula) scriptifrons (Walker, 1871)

This species is the most widely distributed. It is also the one for which the synonymy is the richest. It is still often recorded as M.minima Friese. However, it seems that the name scriptifrons Walker is prioritary.
The male is highly typical regarding the brush like pilosity on clypeus.

Meliturgula (Popovmeliturgula) denesia Patiny, 1999

This species is, endemic in Arabian Peninsula where it is known from the locus typicus only.
Only females were described in the original publication. This latter is highly recognizable by the widely yellow coloration of Metasoma.

Meliturgula (Popovmeliturgula) denesia (1 specimen)

Meliturgula (Popovmeliturgula) ornata (Popov, 1951)

This is a really tiny species actually known to be endemic in Saudi-Arabia (locus typicus in Djeddah). The body size and the coloration patterns led to describe M.denesia as a distinct species, despite the fact that M.ornata is described based on male only and M.denesia based on females only. One of the most notable feature in M.ornata is the shape of the eigth sternum tip. M.ornata is the only species in Meliturgula of which cradle-like shape of S8 is somehow altered.

Meliturgula (Popovmeliturgula) senegaliae Patiny, 1999

This species is the largest included in the subgenus. It is also the most westernly distributed species in Meliturgula.

References

	Eardley CD. 1991. The Southern African Panurginae (Andrenidae: Hymenoptera). Phytophylactica. 23: 115-136.
	Patiny S. 2001. Monographie des Panurginae de l'ancien monde (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Andrenidae). FuSaGx. Ph-D thesis.
	Patiny S. 2004. Descriptions of the males of two recently described South African Panurginae (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), with updated keys to the African species of Melitturga and Meliturgula. Zootaxa. 669: 1-12.
	Patiny S. & Gaspar C. 2000. Biogéographie des Melitturga LATREILLE, 1809, Meliturgula FRIESE, 1903 et des genres proches (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae, Panurginae). Notes fauniques de Gembloux. 39: 3-44. see also:http://www.fsagx.ac.be/zg/Notes%20fauniques/pdf%20zoologie/1201-1250/1242.pdf