A survey on Apoidea bees (Insecta: Hymenoptera) and their associated mites in Fars Province, Iran

Abstract

In this research 52 species of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) have been reported from the northeastern Fars province, of which the species of Hylaeus punctus Förster and Hoplitis leucomelana Kirby were new records for Iran fauna. Among the material examined, there were 11 species of Apidae, 19 species of Halictidae, 1 species of Andrenidae, 4 species of Colletidae and 17 species of Megachilidae. Phoretic mites belonging to four genera Parapygmephorus, Vidia, Imparipes and Anoetus were associated with halictid and meghachilid bees. Among associated mites with collected bees Imparipes burgeri Ebermann & Jagersbacher-Baumann belonging to the family Scutacaridae was new for Iran fauna and Asia. We also collected five new mite species for science. These species were belong to the genera Parapygmephorus (1 species), Vidia (1 species), and Anoetus (3 species) of the families Neopygmephoridae, Winterschmidtiidae and Anoetidae respectively that will be described elsewhere. All specimens are deposited in the “Collection of Iranian Pollinator Insects” of Yasouj University.

Keywords

• anoetidae
• neopygmephoridae
• phoretic mite
• pollinator bees
• scutacaridae
• winterschmidtiidae