Assessment and conservation status of an endemic bee in a diversity hotspot (Hymenoptera, Melittidae, Dasypoda)

By

Ghisbain, Guillaume
Radchenko, Vladimir
Cejas, Diego
Molina, Francisco
Michez, Denis

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021

Original Publication

Journal of Hymenoptera research

Volume

81

Pages

127--142

Subjects

Conservation , Dasypoda michezi , endemism , Heterodasypoda , Iberia , IUCN , Portugal , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Washington, D.C International Society of Hymenopterists

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.81.60811

 

Abstract

Wild bees represent a global group of highly diversified insect pollinators, nowadays concerningly well known for their widespread observed patterns of decline. Amongst them is the genusDasypoda, a widespread Palearctic clade of solitary bees generally poorly represented in entomological collections. Among the 39 accepted species of the genus, 35 are known by both sexes, and a large number of taxa are still known by a low number of specimens. The recently described taxon Dasypoda (Heterodasypoda) michezi Radchenko, 2017 endemic to southern Portugal is just such a case. The species was described from two male specimens, but no female material has been known to date. Here, we provide the first description of the female ofD. michezi, collected close to thelocus typicusin southern Portugal along with a series of conspecific males. Sex pairing is proposed based on the sympatry of the male and female specimens and on the similar morphology of non-sexual dimorphic traits and on the barcode of a fragment of Cytochrome Oxidase I. We provide high quality imaging of both sexes ofD. michezito help future identification of the species and present a key for all known species of the subgenus Heterodasypoda. We finally propose an IUCN status forD. micheziand discuss the conservation of such geographically restricted species in the current context of global change.