Sphecodes schenckii is a solitary cleptoparasitic bee which is found in southern and eastern Europe and the Middle East. Its host is Lasioglossum discum and possibly Halictus simplex where L. discum does not occur such as in southern Germany and Switzerland. It is rare and there are only a few records from each country from which it has been recorded. It prefers warm open areas, such as grasslands and Mediterranean scrub, and may be threatened by reafforestation and vegetation succession.[2] The specific name schenckii is in honour of the German Hymenopterist Adolph Schenck.[3]

Sphecodes schenckii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Halictidae
Genus: Sphecodes
Species:
S. schenckii
Binomial name
Sphecodes schenckii
Hagens, 1882
Synonyms
  • Sphecodes sulcicollis Perez, 1903

References

edit
  1. ^ P. Bogusch; J. Straka (2014). "Sphecodes schenckii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  2. ^ Petr Bogusch; Jakob Straka (2012). "Review and identification of the cuckoo bees of central Europe (Hymenoptera: Halictidae: Sphecodes)". Zootaxa. 3311: 1–41. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3311.1.1.
  3. ^ Hagen Andert (2010). "Hymenoptera-type material of Philipp Adolph SCHENCK in the Natural History Collection of the Museum Wiesbaden (MWNH) (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apidae, Sphecidae s. l., Pompilidae)" (PDF). Bembix. 30: 2–11.