69. Xylocopa volatilis Smith, 1862

Fig. 67

Xylocopa volatilis Smith, 1862: 61, ♂.

Type material examined

Holotype

INDONESIA • ♂; Men. [Menado]; [10 Jun.–23 Sep. 1859]; OUMNH, ENT-HYME2823.

Type locality

Menado [= Manado, Sulawesi].

Notes

Baker (1993: 223–224) wrote the following:

“ Two ♂♂ standing as volatilis in the UMO type collection are labelled:-

a) ‘ Men.’ [Menado, white disc], ‘ Xylocopa volatilis Smith’ [Smith] and ‘type volatilis Smith rev. Lieftinck ‘55’. This ♂ is the HOLOTYPE of volatilis and it has now been labelled accordingly. It is in good condition and intact but for the loss of the greater part of the R flagellum.

b) ‘Seneg’ [?] and ‘ X. confusa (auct) Per. Det. M.A. Lieftinck 1955 ’. This was presumably a specimen misplaced in Saunders’ collection and transferred with (a) to the type collection. There is nothing in Smith’s description of volatilis to suggest that he may have seen more than one specimen ”.

The specimen indicated by Baker was not labelled as holotype; this has now been rectified.

Current status

Xylocopa (Maiella) nobilis Smith, 1858 (van der Vecht 1953; Ascher & Pickering 2024).

Distribution

Indonesia (Sulawesi, Sula islands) (van der Vecht 1953). Ascher & Pickering (2024) list also North Maluku and Maluku; the source of these records is not stated, but may be from works such as Maidl (1912) who cited the species from Ambon Island. Van der Vecht (1953: 59) cautions against any records from east of the Sula islands without confirmation.