Hoplitis singularis group: new synonymies and distribution data
A closer study of the Hoplitis (Anthocopa) species belonging to the singularis group (“Glossosmia“) revealed that several erroneous or doubtful records exist in the literature, which are due to difficulties in reliably separating the different species in the female sex. In addition, three names have to be synonymized. The following new findings were incorporated into the website:
i) Hoplitis bipartita (Friese, 1899) is a synonym of Hoplitis grumi (Morawitz, 1894) based on the original description, Zanden (1986) and new material from Central Asia.
ii) Hoplitis cypriaca bayburtensis (Tkalcu, 1980) from eastern Turkey was hitherto known only in the female sex. In a sample of bees collected in the region around Erzurum (coll. H. Özbek), a single male was found. Morphologically, this specimen closely corresponds to Hoplitis grumi (Morawitz, 1894) as do the females. Thus, H. cypriaca bayburtensis is newly synonymized with H. grumi.
iii) Hoplitis fasciculata described by Alfken (1934) in the female sex from Sardinia is not synonymous with Hoplitis rugidorsis (Pérez, 1895) as claimed by Zanden (1986), but is identical to Hoplitis idalia (Mavromoustakis, 1948). In fact, all Glossosmia males recorded so far from Sardinia are typical H. idalia. Thus, H. idalia is a junior synonym of H. fasciculata.
iv) The record of Hoplitis anipuncta (Alfken, 1935) from Crete (Zanden, 1989), which is based on collected females, is most probably erronoeus. These females certainly belong to Hoplitis fasciculata (Alfken, 1934).
v) Hoplitis hemisphaerica (Alfken, 1935) also occurs in Iran.
vi) The literature records of Hoplitis singularis (Morawitz, 1875) from Israel and Turkey are highly doubtful.
vii) Hoplitis grumi (Morawitz, 1894), for which reliable records exist for Spain, also occurs in Morocco.
viii) All females of Hoplitis grumi from Spain and Portugal in the collection of G. van der Zanden (Naturalis, Leiden) belong to Hoplitis zaianorum (Benoist, 1927). Thus, no reliable record of H. grumi exists for Portugal.