Lasioglossum (Sphecodogastra) laticeps (Schenck, 1869)

Astafurova, Yulia V. & Proshchalykin, Maxim Yu., 2025, Review of the bee genus Lasioglossum Curtis, 1833 (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) fauna of the Ciscaucasia region, Zootaxa 5637 (3), pp. 515-558 : 546-547

Lasioglossum (Sphecodogastra) laticeps (Schenck, 1869)

Halictus laticeps Schenck, 1869: 305 , ♀. Lectotype: ♀, Germany: [Hessen]; designated by Ebmer (1975: 242); SGNF.

Published data. Dathe 1980: 211 (Karachayevo-Cherkess Republic); Chenikalova 2005: 26 (Stavropol Territory).

Material examined. RUSSIA. Krasnodar Territory : 2 ♀, 1 ♂, Lazarevskoye, 9.VIII.1952, VR ; Stavropol Territory : 2 ♀, Kislovodsk, 24.IV.1949, VP; 1 ♂, 10 km of NW Stavropol, Shpakovskoye, arboretum, 14.VII.1986, SB; 1 ♂, Novozavedennoye, near Kuma River , 3. VI .2010, NV; Adygei Republic: 1 ♂, Maykop, 1930, Pogodina ; Ingush Republic: 2 ♀, 7 ♂, Salgi, 1-5.VII.1927, Kirichenko ; North Ossetian Republic : 13 ♀, 20 km S of Buran, 1850 m, steppe slope, 28.VII.1990, YP ; Chechen Republic: 1 ♀, Borzoy, 10 km SW of Shatoy , 900 m, meadow, 23.VII.1990, YP ; Dagestan Republic: 2 ♀, 2 ♂, Dubki, 43°01′N 46°56′E, 28. V .2019, MP, VL ; 4 ♀, 1.5 km SE of Pionernyi , 43°03′N 46°51′E, 28. V .2019, MP, VL ; 3 ♀, 5 km SSW of Rubas , 41°52′N 48°16′E, 2. VI .2019, MP, VL ; 1 ♀, 2 km N of Garakh , 41°29′N 48°02′E, 4.VII.2019, MP, VL ; 2 ♀, near Gubden, 42°34′N 47°33′E, 2. VI .2022, AF; 56 ♀, 2 ♂, Tsudakhar, 42°19′N 47°09′E, 15-18, VI .2023, MP; 3 ♀, Khotoch, 42°24′N 46°57′E, 17. VI .2023, MP ; 9 ♀, Tekipirkent, 41°20′N 47°52′E, 29. VI .2023, MP .

Distribution. Russia (North Caucasus, east to the Urals); Europe [nominate subspecies]; Crete, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia Armenia, Iran [hellenicus (Blüthgen, 1938)? = debilior (Pérez, 1910) , transgression zone is situated in Greece, Turkey, Armenia and Georgia].

Remarks. In steppe and forest landscapes.

Taxonomical note. Two subspecies of Lasioglossum laticeps are known from the Caucasus: the nominate subspecies occurs in the North Caucasus and the subspecies hellenicus (Blüthgen, 1938) is known from the Transcaucasus. The status of L. debilior (Pérez, 1910) is unclear. The male of L. debilior is unknown [the male described by Ebmer (1972) as L. debilior actually belongs to L. pseudosphecodimorphum ( Blüthgen 1923) , see Ebmer 1995]. According to Ebmer (2014: 323), L. debilior (Pérez, 1910) is probably a senior synonym of L. laticeps ssp. hellenicus (Blüthgen, 1938) . A. Pauly (2016), who re-examined the type, noted that the type specimens appear to be suitable. We support this opinion and consider that L. debilior is most likely a synonym of L. laticeps ssp. hellenicus . Future studies using integrated taxonomic techniques are needed to clarify the species boundaries of L. debilior and resolve these doubts.

Lasioglossum mediterraneum (Blüthgen, 1926) , another similar species from the L. laticeps group, has been recorded by us in Azerbaijan ( Astafurova et al. 2024a). However, the record of L. mediterraneum from the Caucasus contradicts the conclusion of Ebmer (2014), who excluded the presence of L. mediterraneum outside the western Mediterranean. The female specimens of “ mediterraneum ” from Azerbaijan differ from complex L. laticeps / L. debilior by intensively dense and tiny punctuation on T1 (especially anteriorly and partially including the horizontal surface) [vs. moderately dense punctuation in typical L. laticeps ssp. hellenicus / L. debilior and moderately sparse punctuation in L. laticeps ssp. laticeps ]. These specimens correspond to the specimens from Algeria and Greece determined as L. mediterraneum by P. Blüthgen and A.W. Ebmer (ZISP collection), and to the illustrations of these species in Pauly (2016). However, it cannot be excluded that these Azerbaijani specimens of “ mediterraneum ” are also an extreme form of L. laticeps ssp. hellenicus , which is also supported by the present intermediate specimens. Therefore, the distribution of L. mediterraneum in the Transcaucasus is questionable and not supported by the record of male specimens of L. mediterraneum from this region with genital characters as illustrated in Do-pham et al. (1984).