DNA Barcoding of Central European Gasteruptiidae and the rarely-collected families Evaniidae, Stephanidae, Trigonalidae, and Aulacidae (Hymenoptera, Apocrita).

The study presents DNA barcoding results of five families of Hymenoptera in Germany. DNA barcodes are provided for 24 of the 25 species of Gasteruption occurring in Central Europe, including 18 of the 19 species recorded from Germany. The genetic diversity was higher than expected, with five species exhibiting two or more Barcode Index Number (BINs), whereas BIN sharing occurred in four species. Gasteruptionfoveiceps Semenov, 1892, stat. nov. is removed from synonymy with G.nigrescens Schletterer, 1885 and treated as a distinct species.

Erratum: Smicromyrmefrankburgeri Schmid-Egger (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae), a replacement name for S.burgeri Schmid-Egger, 2021, preoccupied by S.burgeri Lelej, 2020.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1062.70763.].

The genus Ctenagenia Saussure, 1892 (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) in Oman with description of a new species.

The genus Ctenagenia and the species C. vespiformis is recorded for the first time in Oman. Ctenagenia wahisi sp. nov. is described from southern Oman, Dhofar region.

Additions to the digger wasps (Hymenoptera, Spheciformes) of the United Arab Emirates with description of ten new species.

The following ten new species are described from the United Arab Emirates by C. Schmid-Egger: Didineis mokrousovi, Gastrosericus albidaaensis, Gastrosericus alwathbaensis, Gastrosericus barqaalsuqoorensis, Gastrosericus pulawskii, (paratypes also from Oman), Gastrosericus sheikhae, Oxybelus sajiae, Parapiagetia alwathbaensis, Parapiagetia haladai, and Parapiagetia huwrobertsi (paratypes also from Oman). The unknown males of Nitela arabica Gayubo & Schmid-Egger, 2014, and of Parapiagetia arabica Schmid-Egger, 2014 are described for the first time, new recognition characters for Nitela Latreille, 1809, are given. A key for all Arabian species of Gastrosericus Spinola, 1839, Nitela, and Parapiagetia Kohl, 1897 is provided.

Unexpected diversity in Central European Vespoidea (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae, Myrmosidae, Sapygidae, Scoliidae, Tiphiidae, Thynnidae, Vespidae), with description of two species of Smicromyrme Thomson, 1870.

The present study presents DNA barcoding results for 134 species of Central European Vespoidea, families Mutillidae, Myrmosidae, Sapygidae, Scoliidae, Tiphiidae, Thynnidae, and Vespidae, including DNA barcodes for 100 of the 114 German species. DNA barcoding resulted in unexpected diversity in several families, each with two or more genetic clusters identified by Barcode Index Numbers (BINs). Smicromyrmeburgeri Schmid-Egger, sp. nov. and S.langobardensis Schmid-Egger, sp. nov. are described as new from Germany and Italy, respectively. A neotype is designated for Smicromyrmerufipes (Fabricius, 1878). The results of DNA barcoding are discussed in respect to detecting cryptic species and refining species limits.

Three new species of Agenioideus Ashmead, 1902 and Priocnemis Schioedte, 1837 (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) from Turkey.

Agenioideus (Mimochares) karsensis sp. nov. (female), Priocnemis (Umbripennis) diyarbakirensis sp. nov. (females and a male) and Priocnemis (Umbripennis) bingolensis sp. nov. (female) are described from eastern Turkey.

The genus Lyroda Say, 1837 in Africa and Arabian Peninsula with description of two new species (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae).

The genus Lyroda Say, 1837 is reviewed in Africa and Arabia. Lyroda centralafricana Schmid-Egger Al-Jahdhami, sp. nov. is described from Central African Republic and Zambia from both sexes; the holotype is a male. Lyroda salalah Schmid-Egger Al-Jahdhami, sp. nov. is described from Oman in both sexes; the holotype is a female. The unknown male of L. aethiopica is described for the first time. A key to Lyroda species from Africa and the Arabian Peninsula is given.

A new species of Oryttus Spinola, 1836 from the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia, with identification key to Palaearctic species (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae).

The Palaearctic species of the genus Oryttus Spinola, 1836, are reviewed and a key to these species is given. Oryttus konradschmidti sp. nov. is described from the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia.

A review of Solierella Spinola, 1851 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) from Iran with description of four new species.

Species of Solierella Spinola, 1851 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) in Iran are revised and a key to species is given. The following species from southern Iran are described, based on females only: Solierella farsica Schmid-Egger sp. nov., Solierella kermania Schmid-Egger sp. nov., Solierella khafriensis Schmid-Egger sp. nov. and Solierella persica Schmid-Egger sp. nov. In addition, four species, S. insidiosa de Beaumont, 1964, S. pisonoides (Saunders 1873), S. syriaca de Beaumont, 1964 and S. verhoeffi de Beaumont, 1964 are recorded for the first time for fauna of Iran. Solierella compedita (Piccioli, 1869) could not be confirmed for the fauna of Iran, recognition characters of S. insidiosa and S. compedita are discussed. The number of Solierella species in Iran raises to ten.

The wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Morocco.

Morocco is a well known hot-spot of biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin. While some taxa like vascular plants are relatively well recorded, important groups of pollinators like bees are still understudied. This article presents an updated checklist of the bee species of Morocco and includes a summary of global and regional distribution of each species. A total of 961 species belonging to six bee families and 68 genera are recorded: Andrenidae (8 genera, 217 species); Apidae (15 genera, 241 species); Colletidae (2 genera, 74 species), Halictidae (12 genera, 144 species), Megachilidae (28 genera, 271 species) and Melittidae (3 genera, 14 species). Among them, 67 species are recorded for the first time in Morocco. Around 70% of the bee fauna of Morocco consists of widespread Palaearctic species. Only 18% of Moroccan species recorded are restricted to North Africa and 8% are Moroccan single-country endemics (81 species). Afrotropical elements in the Moroccan fauna are few, with only 3% of Morocco species co-occuring in that region. This checklist is intended to stimulate new regional research on bees including their taxonomy and biogeography. As many groups of bees have been understudied, discovery of new species for science and new records for the country can be expected. Additional research including inventorying, monitoring, and integrative taxonomic studies are needed to develop a comprehensive strategy for bee conservation in Morocco.

A new species of Microcurgus Haupt, 1950 (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae) from Oman.

Microcurgus samedensis is described from Northern Oman by a single female. It represents the first record of the genus from the Arabian Peninsula. A key to females from the Palearctic region is given.

Biodiversity of the aculeate wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) of the Arabian Peninsula: Vespoidea, Pompilidae.

An updated checklist of the Arabian species of Pompilidae is provided here. The list includes 119 identified valid species in 35 genera and three subfamilies: Ceropalinae (1 genus, 6 species), Pepsinae (6 genera, 26 species) and Pompilinae (28 genera, 87 species). Distributions, both on the Peninsula and extra-limital, are provided for each species and subspecies; 22 species (18%) are confined to the Arabian Peninsula.

Miscophus Jurine, 1807 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) in Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe.

Species of the genus Miscophus from Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe are reviewed and a new key to these species is presented. Miscophus cappadocicus de Beaumont, 1967 is given a new status of a valid species (described as a subspecies of Miscophus mavromoustakisi Andrade 1953). New synonyms for Miscophus albufeirae Andrade, 1952 are: Miscophus susterai Balthasar, 1953, M. unigena Balthasar, 1953 and M. albufeirae ssp. anatolicus de Beaumont, 1967. New synonyms for Miscophus insolitus Andrade, 1953 are: Miscophus insulicola Balthasar, 1953, Miscophus percitus Mokrousov, 2004. The following species are new in the fauna of Central Europe: Miscophus albufeirae Andrade, 1952 (Hungary), Miscophus cappadocicus de Beaumont, 1967 (Slovakia, Hungary), Miscophus johni Mokrousov, 2004 (Czech Republic), Miscophus minutus Andrade, 1953 (Hungary).

DNA barcodes identify 99 per cent of apoid wasp species (Hymenoptera: Ampulicidae, Crabronidae, Sphecidae) from the Western Palearctic.

The apoid wasps have traditionally been regarded as a paraphyletic assemblage of four families (Ampulicidae, Crabronidae, Heterogynaidae and Sphecidae) that are closely related to the bees (Anthophila). The present study covers the three families of apoid wasps known to occur in Europe, that is, the Ampulicidae, Crabronidae and Sphecidae. DNA barcode sequences of 3,695 specimens of apoid wasps were analysed for the present study, including 21 specimens of Ampulicidae, 3,398 Crabronidae and 276 Sphecidae. The sequences of the dataset represent 661 species of apoid wasps, including two species of Ampulicidae, 613 of Crabronidae and 46 species of Sphecidae. The dataset includes DNA barcodes of 240 species of German apoid wasps, representing 88% of the German fauna, and 578 European species, representing 65% of the European apoid wasp fauna. The study demonstrates that virtually all species of the three examined families can be reliably identified by DNA barcodes. The implications of highly congruent results between traditional taxonomy and DNA barcoding for the reliable application of DNA-based identifications are discussed.

Review of the genus Microcurgus Haupt, 1950 (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae) with description of a new species from Iran.

Three species are reviewed. A new synonymy is proposed for Microcurgus Haupt, 1950 (=Micropompilus Priesner, 1955, syn. nov.). Microcurgus iraniensis Schmid-Egger sp. nov. is described and illustrated from South-Eastern Iran. A new combination is proposed for Microcurgus braconoides (Priesner, 1955), comb. nov. (from the genus Micropompilus). A key to the species based on females is given.

Updated catalogue of Pompilidae (Hymenoptera) in Iran.

An updated list of the Pompilidae (Hymenoptera) from Iran is presented. This catalogue contains species records that were published in a 128 years period from 1888 to 2016. In all, 162 species belonging to 41 genera and three subfamilies are recorded in Iran. The available data on distribution of each species in Iran (provinces), as well as the valid names, are also provided. Most of the species were recorded from the northern provinces followed by Fars and Sistan-o Baluchestan provinces in the South Central and South eastern parts of the country.

Revision of the West Palaearctic Polistes Latreille, with the descriptions of two species - an integrative approach using morphology and DNA barcodes (Hymenoptera, Vespidae).

The genus Polistes is revised for the West Palaearctic region based on morphology and DNA barcodes. The revision includes all known West Palaearctic species, raising the number of species in Europe to 14 and to 17 for the West Palaearctic realm. DNA barcodes were recovered from 15 species, 14 of which belong to the subgenus Polistes, and one, P. wattii, to the subgenus Gyrostoma. An integrative taxonomic approach combining morphology and molecular data (DNA barcoding) was employed to resolve longstanding taxonomic problems in this group. Two species, P. austroccidentalis van Achterberg & Neumeyer, sp. n. (= P. semenowi auctt.) from W and SW Europe and P. maroccanus Schmid-Egger, sp. n. from Morocco are described as new. Polistes bucharensis Erichson, 1849, and P. foederatus Kohl, 1898, were restored from synonymy. The following new synonyms are proposed: P. sulcifer Zimmermann, 1930, and Pseudopolistes sulcifer var. similator Zirngiebl, 1955, under P. semenowi Morawitz, 1889, syn. n.; Polistes iranus Guiglia, 1976, Polistes gallica var. ornata Weyrauch, 1938 and Polistes gallicus muchei Gusenleitner, 1976, under P. bucharensis Erichson, 1849, syn. n.; Polistes omissus var. ordubadensis Zirngiebl, 1955, and P. hellenicus Arens, 2011, under Polistes mongolicus du Buysson, 1911, syn. n. An illustrated key includes all species and additionally three species from the subgenera Aphanilopterus Meunier, 1888 and Gyrostoma Kirby, 1828 (including a Nearctic species recently introduced to Spain and two species occurring in Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, and SW Asia). A phylogenetic analysis using Bayesian inference provides insights into phylogenetic relationships within the genus Polistes.

A new species of Holotachysphex de Beaumont, 1940 (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Crabronidae) from Iran with identification key to species.

Holotachysphex iraniensis sp. nov. (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Crabronidae) from southern Iran is described. A revised key to the world species of Holotachysphex is provided. A red form of H. mochii from Jordan is described.

DNA barcoding largely supports 250 years of classical taxonomy: identifications for Central European bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea partim).

This study presents DNA barcode records for 4118 specimens representing 561 species of bees belonging to the six families of Apoidea (Andrenidae, Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae and Melittidae) found in Central Europe. These records provide fully compliant barcode sequences for 503 of the 571 bee species in the German fauna and partial sequences for 43 more. The barcode results are largely congruent with traditional taxonomy as only five closely allied pairs of species could not be discriminated by barcodes. As well, 90% of the species possessed sufficiently deep sequence divergence to be assigned to a different Barcode Index Number (BIN). In fact, 56 species (11%) were assigned to two or more BINs reflecting the high levels of intraspecific divergence among their component specimens. Fifty other species (9.7%) shared the same Barcode Index Number with one or more species, but most of these species belonged to a distinct barcode cluster within a particular BIN. The barcode data contributed to clarifying the status of nearly half the examined taxonomically problematic species of bees in the German fauna. Based on these results, the role of DNA barcoding as a tool for current and future taxonomic work is discussed.