Hesperapini Ascher & Engel, 2015

Engel, Michael S., 2015, Notes on family-group names for bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), Journal of Melittology 2015 (46), pp. 1-7 : 3

Tribe Hesperapini Ascher & Engel

Eremaphantina Engel, new subtribe

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E983673C-524A-4EDC-AC8F-DD03451D80F9

TYPE GENUS: Eremaphanta Popov, 1940 .

DIAGNOSIS: Small bees (4–7 mm in length), often with yellow maculation, at least on face and/or legs; maxillary stipes with distinct, large, apical concavity on ventral/ posterior margin (stipital concavity); galeal comb present anterior to maxillary palpus, galeal fringe present; metabasitibial plate present; inner surface of female metatibia with mediolongitudinal keirotrichiate zone; forewing with basal vein arched; two submarginal cells (i.e., 1rs-m absent, sensu Engel , 2001); pterostigma transparent, about as long as or slightly longer than costal margin of marginal cell; propodeal profile with basal area horizontal, basal area about as a long as vertical surface; prepygidial fimbria of female absent; pygidial fimbria of female absent; pygidial plate of female present; pygidial plate of male absent; male gonostylus simple, not enlarged.

INCLUDED GENERA: The subtribe presently includes only the type genus, Eremaphanta Popov , with three subgenera: Eremaphanta s.str., Popovapis Michener , and Eremaphantella n. subgen. (vide Appendix). It could be argued that these groups are best recognized as individual genera, but such a change is not advocated here.

COMMENTS: The recognition of the present group serves to emphasize the rather disparate morphological and biogeographic distinction between the included species and those of nominate subtribe, of the genera Hesperapis Cockerell and Capicola Friese. While features such as the genitalia, galeal comb, rather flattened metasoma, and metatibial keirotrichiate band are indicative of hesperapine monophyly ( Engel , 2005; Michez & Patiny, 2006), the two subtribes exhibit apparently relic distributions across different zoogeographic regions (Palearctic/Oriental versus Nearctic/Afrotropical). The eremaphantines are the only Hesperapini occurring in xeric areas of Central Asia southwest to Iran and the eastern Arabian Peninsula and southeast to Pakistan (overlapping with the tribe Dasypodaini ), while the remaining lineages of the tribe are restricted to North America, South Africa, and Namibia.