Tetragonula

Rasmussen, Claus, 2013, Stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) of the Indian subcontinent: Diversity, taxonomy and current status of knowledge, Zootaxa 3647 (3), pp. 401-428 : 416-418

Tetragonula aff. laeviceps (Smith 1857)

Specimens similar to Trigona laeviceps Smith 1857: 51 : Neotype (BMNH, worker): examined; Type locality: SINGAPORE, Upper Peirce Reservoir Park.

Comments: Recognizable type material of T. laeviceps could not be found and a neotype from the type locality, Singapore, was recently designated to stabilize the usage of the name (Rasmussen & Michener 2010). Specimens similar to the highly variable T. laeviceps have been reported from Bangalore in India by Sakagami (1978) and Sakagami et al. (1990). In addition to reporting this species from mainland India, Sakagami (1978) examined a worker of presumably T. aff. laeviceps from the Andaman Islands. Sakagami et al. (1990) also reported a “forma B” of Tetragonula for India, but it is uncertain which species that would represent.

MAP 2. Type localities for the species of stingless bees from the Indian subcontinent. a. Tetragonula iridipennis , b. Lisotrigona mohandasi , c. L. cacciae , d. T. ruficornis , e. T. bengalensis , f. Lepidotrigona arcifera . Tetragonula praeterita was described from “ Ceylon ”, or Sri Lanka, with no further indication of the locality.