Thyreus picaron Lieftinck, 1968

Wood, Thomas, Leclercq, Vincent, Schmid-Egger, Christian & Praz, Christophe, 2025, A contribution to the knowledge of the genus Thyreus Panzer in the West and Central Palaearctic (Hymenoptera, Apidae), with two new species, taxonomic updates, host relationships, and a key to European species, Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 72 (2), pp. 259-302 : 259-302

Thyreus picaron Lieftinck, 1968

Thyreus picaron Lieftinck, 1968: 92, ♂ [ Croatia, RMNH, examined].

Material examined.

Albania • 1 ♂; Topovë ; 13 Jul. 2017; K. Janssen leg.; KJCB ; Bulgaria • 1 ♂; Melnik ; 4 Jul. 2019; M. Halada leg.; OÖLM ; Croatia • 1 ♂; Stobreč (nr. Split ); 13 Jun. 1962; C. v. Heijningen leg.; M. A. Lieftinck det.; RMNH; RMNH.INS.1714262 ( holotype) • 1 ♂; Baška, Insel Krk ; 16 Aug. 1976; J. Heinrich leg.; OÖLM ; Cyprus • 1 ♂; 20 km NNW Pafos, Lara Beach ; 20 Jun. 2013; C. Schmid-Egger leg.; CSE • 1 ♂; Akrotiri ; 26 Apr. 2018; A. Varnava leg.; TJWC ; France • 1 ♂; Alpes Maritimes, 1 km S Fontan ; 13 Jul. 2009; C. Schmid-Egger leg.; CSE • 1 ♂; Var, Le Trayas ; O. W. Richards leg.; M. A. Lieftinck det.; NHMUK ; Georgia • 1 ♂; Tbilissi, Botanical Garden ; 26 Jul. 2021; V. Leclercq leg.; E. Dufrêne det., VLC ; Greece • 1 ♂; Chalkidiki, W of Nikiti ; 12–14 Jun. 2013; M. Snižek leg.; OÖLM • 1 ♂; Karpenission , 2000 ft [Karpenisi]; 20 Jul. 1976; K. M. Guichard leg.; M. A. Lieftinck det.; NHMUK • 1 ♂; Preveza env. ; 25 Jun. 1997; K. Deneš leg.; OÖLM ; Iran • 1 ♂; Golestan, Kashidar ; 1381 m a. s. l.; 9 Jul. 2018; W-H. Liebig leg.; WHLC • 1 ♂; Semnan province, Shahmirzad, 13 km NW ; 1836 m a. s. l.; 7 Jul. 2022; C. Schmid-Egger leg.; CSE • 1 ♂; Teheran province, Elburz, Serkheh [Sorkheh Zamin] ; 2266 m a. s. l.; 6 Jul. 2022; C. Schmid-Egger leg.; CSE • 1 ♀; Tehran prov., Elburz, Firuzkuh 1 km SW ; 6 Jul. 2022; C. Schmid-Egger leg.; CSE ; Italy • 1 ♂; S-Tirol, Meran, Schloss-Trauttmansdorf ; 21 Aug. 2013; T. Kopf leg.; CSE • 1 ♂; S-Tirol, Meran, Schloss-Trauttmansdorf ; 11 Aug. 2013; T. Kopf leg.; CSE ; Lebanon • 1 ♂; Nord Libanon, Becharre [Bsharri] ; 1400 m a. s. l.; 1–4 Jul. 1931; Zerny leg.; M. A. Lieftinck det.; RMNH; RMNH.INS.1714263 ; Montenegro • 1 ♂; Ulcinj; 29 Jun. 1969; Hoffer leg.; OÖLM ; North Macedonia • 1 ♂; Suvodol, 18 km ENE of Bitola ; 750–1000 m a. s. l.; 30 Jul. 1965; M. A. Lieftinck det.; RMNH; RMNH.INS.1714264 ; Romania • 1 ♂; Dobrogea [remaining text illegible]; 7 Jul. 1994; OÖLM ; Slovakia • 1 ♂; Sturovo [Štúrovo] ; 28 Jul. 1972; M. Kocourek leg.; OÖLM ; Spain • 1 ♂; Catalonia, Palamos ; 19 Jul. 1959; S. G. Bishoff leg.; M. A. Lieftinck det.; ZMHB • 1 ♂; N. of Madrid, Rio Guadarrama ; 27 Jul. 1980; K. M. Guichard leg.; NHMUK • 1 ♂; Segovia, Brieva, 5 km N, Las Cañones de los rios Piron y Viego ; 16 Jul. 2021; T. J. Wood leg.; TJWC • 1 ♂; Valencia; [undated]; Moroder leg.; MNCN • 1 ♂; Pontevedra, Cortellas ; [undated]; Varela leg.; MNCN ; Turkey • 1 ♂; Bitlis, Nemrut Dağı ; 2300 m a. s. l.; 15 Aug. 1991; J. Halada leg.; OÖLM ; Ukraine • 1 ♂; Odessa [Odesa] Oblast, Krasnosilka env. ; 23 Jun. 2024; A. V. Gontarenko leg.; E. Dufrêne det., VLC .

Remarks.

It was possible to identify the female of T. picaron through DNA barcoding. Unfortunately, the located female from Iran ( WPATW 1024-23) appears to be completely identical to T. histrionicus (Panzer, 1806) . It therefore does not currently seem possible to provide a diagnosis for the female sex, and so future records of T. histrionicus from within the expanded distributional range (relative to Lieftinck 1968) of T. picaron must be considered in a broad sense. Examination of additional material has increased the distributional range of T. picaron , particularly in south-eastern Europe (Fig. 12 ). As suggested by Gaspar et al. (2025), the host is likely to be one or both of two of the larger Amegilla sensu stricto, either Am. ( Amegilla) garrula (Rossi, 1790) or Am. ( Amegilla) ochroleuca (Pérez, 1879) . Like these two possible hosts, T. picaron does not extend into North Africa. Records of Am. garrula and Am. ochroleuca are presented in Suppl. material 1. The use of two hosts is suspected due to areas where only one possible host is known (with a high degree of confidence) to be present, such as in central Spain and northern Portugal ( Am. garrula absent) and northernmost Italy ( Am. ochroleuca absent). At the Italian sites surveyed in 2013, T. picaron was flying with Am. garrula , supporting this association. Thyreus picaron has also been regularly collected with Am. garrula in the south of France (M. Aubert, pers. comm.).

Based on this hypothesis, T. picaron should be common in Turkey; a study of additional Turkish Thyreus specimens to clarify its range in this country is necessary. It is important to note that there is a cryptic species close to Am. ochroleuca which is currently being described from Lebanon, eastern Turkey ( Ağrı, Hakkâri), northern Iran, and south-western Turkmenistan (P. Rasmont & TJW, in preparation); it is very rare in collections and is collected much more rarely than Am. ochroleuca in Turkey. It may serve as a third host species for T. picaron . For simplicity, these records are here folded into Am. ochroleuca . In northern Iran, T. picaron , the cryptic “ Am. ochroleuca ”, and Am. garrula have all been caught in close proximity (Fig. 12 ). We report T. picaron as new for the fauna of Ukraine, from where Am. ochroleuca has also been recorded (see Suppl. material 1), and this species is also known from the Odesa region based on specimens held in the Kansas collection and determined by Brooks ( KSEM 1323579; Ascher and Pickering 2025), providing a plausible host. We also report T. picaron as new for Georgia, at a collecting locality where several Am. garrula were also captured (see Suppl. material 1).

Distribution.

Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Slovakia *, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine *, Montenegro *, Albania *, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Georgia *, Lebanon *, Iran ( Lieftinck 1968 partim; Kuhlmann et al. 2014; Varnava et al. 2020; Ascher and Pickering 2025; Gaspar et al. 2025; Fig. 12 ). As discussed above, we suspect that records from Central Asia will correspond to T. jansseni .

Figures

Figure 12. Distribution of Thyreus picaron Lieftinck, 1968 (red circles) along with its two suspected hosts, Amegilla garrula (Rossi, 1790) (open blue triangles) and Amegilla ochroleuca (Pérez, 1879) (filled yellow squares). Distributional data are not comprehensive.