Abstract
Abstract Sphecodini are a clade of obligatory parasitic Halictinae, comprising 332 species and five genera worldwide. Recently, Sphecodes Latreille was considered polyphyletic according to the results of a molecular phylogeny. Morphological analysis of Neotropical groups revealed groups of species in Sphecodes s.l. that can be recognized at genus level to improve the classification of the tribe. The main objective of this study is to review the generic classification of Sphecodini, with emphasis on Neotropical groups. I propose Austrosphecodes Michener as a separate genus from Sphecodes s.s. and describe a new genus, Melissocleptis gen. nov. for eight known species. Both genera comprise most of the Neotropical species. Nesosphecodes depressus sp. nov. is described for Brazil and a revised diagnosis for Nesosphecodes Engel is given to accommodate this new species and to include data on male terminalia. A revised key for the genera from the Western Hemisphere is provided.
Highlights
Sphecodini Schenck are a clade of obligatory parasitic halictine bees related to the tribe Halictini (Danforth et al, 2008)
According to the only phylogeny for the group (Habermannová et al, 2013), Sphecodes s.l. is polyphyletic in relation to Eupetersia and Microsphecodes
The main objective of this study is to provide a revised classification of Sphecodini, with emphasis on Neotropical groups
Summary
Sphecodini Schenck are a clade of obligatory parasitic halictine bees related to the tribe Halictini (Danforth et al, 2008). Most studied species behave as cleptoparasites but a social parasite of Dialictus Robertson (Halictini) was studied by Eickwort and Eickwort (1972). The host range of the tribe includes several bee subfamilies (Michener, 1978). The tribe comprises 332 species (compiled from Ascher and Pickering, 2020) distributed in five genera: Eupetersia Blüthgen, Microsphecodes Eickwort & Stage, Nesosphecodes Engel, Ptilocleptis Michener and Sphecodes Latreille. According to the only phylogeny for the group (Habermannová et al, 2013), Sphecodes s.l. is polyphyletic in relation to Eupetersia and Microsphecodes
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