New locality records for Xylocopa (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Xylocopinae) fauna of Turkey

Abstract

Background. The article presents the results of the research on carpenter bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Xylocopinae: Xylocopa) housed in the Lodos Entomological Museum (Ege University, Izmir, Turkey). There are 10 species of Xylocopa occurring on the territory of Turkey. Three of them are common and abundant (X. violacea, X. valga and X. iris) and the other species are moderately common or rare. The aim of this study is to present new locality records of the material on the Xylocopa fauna of Turkey preserved in the Lodos Entomological Museum, Turkey. Material and Methods. The objects of our research were carpenter bees collected from different localities of Turkey between 1975 and 2018 and housed in the Lodos Entomological Museum. Insects were collected by researchers, students and amateurs. We used stereoscopic microscope Bresser Advance ICD 10x-160x and specialized keys for Xylocopa identifi­cation. Results. We analyzed 262 specimens of carpenter bees that belong to four species (Xylocopa iris, X. pubescens, X. valga and X. violacea). The information on the specimens’ location and brief notes on the plants on which they were foraging is provided. Three of the analyzed species namely X. iris, X. valga and X. violacea are listed in the category “Least Concern” of the IUCN Red List. Conclusions. We found new locality records for three Xylocopa species: X. iris reported from Manisa pro­vince for the first time, X. valga – from Antalya, Aydın, Denizli and Manisa and X. violacea – from Balıkesir, Denizli, Manisa and Tekirdağ pro­vinces of Turkey. Further studies aiming to improve the knowledge on Xylocopa fauna should focus on collecting in little-known areas and some specific habitats of Turkey.