Aglaoapis tridentata (Nylander)

Coelioxys tridentata Nylander, 1848 (nec Apis tridentata Fabricius, 1775): 254.

Dioxys fasciata Schenck, 1861: 383.

Dioxys kuntzei Noskiewicz, 1940: 99.

Dioxoides tridentata ssp. limassolica Mavromoustakis, 1949: 587.

Diagnosis.

Larger species (9-12 mm), both sexes are black with well-developed white bands of short hair on metasomal terga (Fig. 1A, B). Both sexes have the fore coxa with a carina anteriorly (Fig. 1E) and a short projection and the scutellum with a medial toothlike projection (Fig. 1C). Females have a longer last tergum than females of the genus Dioxys and an emarginated last sternum (Fig. 1D). The last tergum is emarginated for males (Fig. 1F).

Distribution.

Aglaoapis tridentata is a Palaearctic species that occurs in Europe, from Spain in the west to Russia in the east (Fig. 2), and in Asia from the Caucasus, Kyrgyzstan and China, Kazakhstan, Siberia and Russian Far East. This species reaches the farthest north of any species of the tribe, with records from Finland and Sweden (Ornosa et al. 2008; Madsen and Calabuig 2010; Ascher and Pickering 2023).

Biology and hosts: Species recorded especially in steppic formations, sunny slopes, forest steppes and other open or semiopen habitats. Occurs also in abandoned sandpits, spoil heaps and other habitats of anthropogenic origin. This species attacks nests of bees of the family Megachilidae, especially those nesting underground or making their own nests near the ground surface. Hoplitis anthocopoides (Schenck), Hoplitis ravouxi ( Pérez), probably also Hoplitis adunca (Panzer) and Megachile pilidens Alfken, in southern parts of Europe, and also Chalicodoma parietina (Geoffroy) were confirmed as hosts of this species (Westrich 2018). Scheuchl and Willner (2016) also listed Megachile leachella Curtis as a likely host.

Conservation status.

Nieto et al. (2014) classified this species as LC - data deficient. This species is relatively rare throughout its range. Its distribution in Europe is the largest of any species, and it is still being recorded in most countries - it was reported to be regionally extinct only in Belgium and Finland (Ghisbain et al. 2023). It should therefore be classified as LC.