Male and female of Celonites abbreviatus tauricus Kostylev, 1935 are redescribed and a neotype is designated. Based on morphological characters Celonites a. tauricus is synonymized with Celonites spinosus Gusenleitner, 1966 and Celonites abbreviatus invitus Gusenleitner, 1973. The taxon is hypothesized to be reproductively isolated from Celonites abbreviatus Villers, 1789 by differences in the male genitalia and in the colour pattern of the male antennae and is therefore regarded as a separate biospecies named Celonites tauricus. Celonites tauricus is allopatrically distributed with regard to C. abbreviatus and has been recorded from the Crimea, Kos, Asia Minor and Cyprus. Within this range six intraspecific taxa can be separated by morphological characters and colour patterns. Habitat, flower association, flower visiting behaviour, mate seeking behaviour and nesting of C. tauricus are almost similar to C. abbreviatus. KeywordsHymenoptera, Vespidae, Masarinae, Celonites, taxonomy, bionomics, Palaearctic, Crimea, Asia Minor, Cyprus, flower association, Lamiaceae, female brood care * Disclaimer: Author(s) from Crimea of articles appearing in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research is/are solely responsible for the proper indication of his/her/their actual postal address and affiliation. The Journal of Hymenoptera Research is a scientific journal and cannot be held responsible for political tensions or disputes between governments or persons. RESEARCH ARTICLEVolker Mauss et al. / Journal of Hymenoptera Research 48: 33-66 (2016) 34 IntroductionNearly 100 years ago the first specimen of a species of the pollen wasp genus Celonites Latreille, 1802 was recorded from the Crimea. It was a single female collected by V.N. Wuczeticz on 13 June 1916 on the southern slope of Karagach in the Karadag (Kostylev 1928; original spelling "Karagatsh") which is a small mountain massive on the south-eastern coast of the Crimea. Kostylev (1928) identified the specimen as Celonites abbreviatus (Villers, 1789). Seven years later he formally described the Celonites taxon from the Crimea as a new subspecies of C. abbreviatus named Celonites abbreviatus tauricus Kostylev, 1935. He noted that specimens from the Crimea differed from specimens from the Caucasus by finely serrate margins of the second and subsequent terga and concluded that they possibly belong to a different subspecies (Kostylev 1935). Kostylev did not designate any type specimens of the subspecies either in his original description or in any further publication. Moreover, it is unknown how many specimens were available to him, when he described the taxon. In his world checklist of masarine wasps Carpenter (2001) recognized C. a. tauricus as a valid taxon. He speculated that the holotype of C. a. tauricus might be in the collection of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg (Russia), but we could not find it there, though carefully searching for it. The holotypes of all other wasp species described by Kostylev are deposited in ...

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The Palaearctic complex of anthidiine bees closely related to Pseudoanthidium scapulare has long been a source of unresolved taxonomic and systematic issues. Until now, the number of species in the complex and their geographical distributions were largely unclear, thus complicating the compilation of accurate species checklists and hindering conservation efforts. In order to address these issues, we use morphology and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences, combined with a thorough examination of the relevant literature and type material, to delimit species within this complex, assign names to species and clarify geographical ranges. An unexpected result was that a certain number of morphologically distinct taxa exhibited low levels of genetic divergence at the COI locus, resulting in species paraphyly. A set of ultra-conserved elements (UCEs) was also sequenced in order to further investigate relationships among these taxa. One morphologically distinct species was also paraphyletic using UCE data, hinting at recent species divergences and genetic exchange at zones of contact between morphologically well-differentiated taxa. The results of our study reveal the presence of ten species in this complex, including a previously overlooked species for western continental Europe. A complete diagnosis of the males and females of these species is provided, as are maps detailing the geographic distributions of each. An illustrated identification key to the males and females of each species is presented. Two new species are described, Pseudoanthidium kaspareki sp. nov. and P. rozeni sp. nov. New synonymy is established for several species and Pseudoanthidium palestinicum and P. tropicum are raised to species level. The new combination, Icteranthidium floripetum comb. nov. is also established. Lectotypes are designated for the following species: Anthidium eversmanni, A. floripetum, A. frontale, A. karakalense, A. nanum and A. reptans. Previously unpublished lectotype designations are published here for A. sinuatum and A. tenellum.

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A new self-pollinating species, Epipactis euxina, is described from Gelendzhik District of Krasnodar Territory. The species is closely related to E. persica from which it differs by its remarkable long pedicel, distinctly longer epichile, and indistinct or absent viscidium. It grows in sparse pine forest mixed with oak, on calcareous soils. Four other taxa collected in different localities of Krasnodar Territory are new for the North Caucasus: E. krymmontana, E. leptochila subsp. leptochila, E. leptochila subsp. neglecta, and E. muelleri. A new synonymy is proposed for E. persica = E. helleborine subsp. transcaucasica. An updated key to the species of the genus Epipactis in the North Caucasus is provided. The lectotype of E. muelleri is designated.

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