Habralictus and Lasioglossum of Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Lesser Antilles (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Halictidae)

Abstract

The new species and the first halictid bees documented from Saint Lucia Habralictus reinae, Lasioglossum (Dialictus) luciae, and L. (Habralictellus) delphiae are described. A fourth species, L. (D.) dominicense, is tentatively recorded from the island. The species are illustrated and compared to similar ones from the Lesser Antilles. Lasioglossum and Habralictus from neighbouring Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are reviewed and a key to Lasioglossum provided, including the description of another new species, L. (Dialictus) gemmeum. Trigona nigrocyanea Ashmead and Dufourea subcyanea Ashmead are synonymised under Lasioglossum cyaneum (Ashmead). Notes on the obscure Lasioglossum (Dialictus) minutum (Fabricius) are provided. A new name, Lasioglossum (Homalictus) minuens, is provided for a secondary homonym Homalictus minutus Pauly. The potential for additional species richness in Saint Lucia and the Lesser Antilles is briefly discussed.

A problematic species complex of Lasioglossum subgeneric diagnostics in North America (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

“…into multiple genera runs the risk of short-lived combinations that must be changed to better match future classifications. As an illustration, the name Habralictellus has been used at both the generic (Moure & Hurd 1982;Engel 2001) and subgeneric level (Genaro 2021;Gibbs et al 2022) or treated as junior synonym of Dialictus (Michener 2000;Gibbs 2010). The monophyly of the group has been questioned (Gibbs 2018a) but if species are part of an inclusive Lasioglossum the combinations do not change.…”

axonomic revision of the Australian native bee subgenus Australictus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae: Halictini: genus Lasioglossum) – “Wood-Splitting Axe Bees”

“…Terminology follows Michener (2007), except the propodeum is called the metapostnotum (Brothers, 1976;Gibbs et al, 2022;Engel and Gonzalez, 2022) and the inner hind tibial spur is called the anterior metatibial spur (Aguiar and Gibson, 2010). To assist with the descriptions, the following notes are provided: relative head measurements were standardised to a head width of 100 units; absolute measurements are expressed as minimum-mean-maximum if multiple specimens were available; body length was measured from antennal sockets to end of metasoma; forewing length was measured from the base of the arcuate basal vein (vein M) to the distal margin of the third submarginal cell (vein 2rs-m); and, intertegular distance was measured as the greatest width between the tegulae.…”