New and little-known bees of the genus Sphecodes Latreille, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Halictidae) from the Himalayas Author Astafurova, Yulia E0C904B0-6727-4F5C-8F5D-3CD1BFF32F3B Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (ZISP), Saint Petersburg, Russia. & Yulia. Yulia.Astafurova@zin.ru Author Proshchalykin, Maxim 6B6EEC64-E26C-4E34-A0C9-8DC198B881ED Federal Scientific Centre for East Asian Terrestrial Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FCBV), Vladivostok, Russia. proshchalikin@biosoil.ru text European Journal of Taxonomy 2020 2020-12-28 729 74 120 journal article 3508 10.5852/ejt.2020.729.1195 c4ddeab6-e087-4585-99d7-ac9f7dc4a102 2118-9773 5705318 2FA17849-A224-4B0B-8894-EDB6ECBE029B Sphecodes iridipennis Smith, 1879 Fig. 11 A–E Sphecodes iridipennis Smith, 1879: 27–28 , ♀ . Sphecodes iridipennis – Gupta 2013: 60 . Diagnosis This species is close to the S. simlaensis owing to a similar structure, sculpture of the body and the fact that the females morphologically are difficult to distinguish, but S. iridipennis has a slightly less transverse head (1.1 times as wide as long vs 1.2) and entirely red legs (at least femora black or brownish in S. simlaensis ). Material examined Holotype INDIA • 1 ♀ ; “Type // N Ind [ Northern India ] // B.M.TYPE HYM.17a550”; NHMUK 013380317 . Descriptive notes Wings with weak yellowish or brownish darkening; hind wing with basal vein strongly curved with the angle between basal ( M ) and cubital ( Cu ) veins ca 90°, costal margin with five hamuli. Preoccipital carina absent. Female Total body length 4.5 mm ( Fig. 11A ). Head weakly transverse, at most 1.1 times as wide as long ( Fig. 11B ); vertex not elevated as seen in frontal view; F1 and F2 transverse, 0.5–0.6 times as long as wide, F3 0.8 times as long as wide; clypeus with punctures separated by 1–3 puncture diameters; ocello-ocular area with fine punctures separated by 1–3 puncture diameters; face and gena with sparse pubescence. Mesoscutum and mesoscutellum with punctures (15–20 μm) separated by 1–4 puncture diameters ( Fig. 11D ); hypoepimeral area coarsely reticulate; metafemur weakly enlarged in proximal half, maximum width 0.35 times its length; legs red. Propodeal triangle (metapostnotum) with coarse longitudinal wrinkles and shiny interspaces. Metasomal terga scarcely punctate, T1 impunctate, remaining terga basally with sparse fine setal pores ( Fig. 11E ); marginal zones impunctate; terga red to red-brownish apically, pygidial plate 0.7 times as wide as metabasitarsus. Fig. 11. Sphecodes iridipennis Smith, 1879 . Holotype, ♀ (NHMUK 013380317). A . Habitus in lateral view. B . Head in frontal view. C . Labels. D . Mesosoma in dorsal view. E . Metasoma in dorsal view. Scale bars: A, D–E = 1 mm; B = 0.5 mm. Male Unknown. Distribution Himalayas: Uttarakhand , Northern India . The record of the species from Himachal Pradesh ( India ) by Saini & Rathor (2012: 162) is doubtful. Remarks Since we could not clearly differentiate between females of S. iridipennis and S. simlaensis , except by their relative head length and coloration, more specimens should be studied (including the male finding) to make a decision on their synonymy. The specimens recorded as S. iridipennis from Chapra ( India ) by Rajkumar & Dey (2016: 1847 , pl. 3) belong to another species. Unlike the holotype this specimen, re-described as S. iridipennis , has more transverse head (1.3 times as wide as long) and possibly belongs to the undescribed female of S. chaprensis Blüthgen, 1927 .