An annotated checklist of the large carpenter bees, genus Xylocopa Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae), from the Philippine Islands

Abstract

An annotated checklist is presented for the 37 valid species-level taxa of the genus Xylocopa Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae) recorded from the Philippine Islands. A key is provided to the four subgenera of Xylocopa represented in the Philippine fauna: Xylocopa subgenus Biluna Maa, Xylocopa subgenus Koptortosoma Gribodo, Xylocopa subgenus Platynopoda Westwood and Xylocopa subgenus Zonohirsuta Maa. For each species and subspecies, the following information is provided: original combination, type locality, available information about primary types, a list of synonyms described from the Philippines, a brief synopsis of the principal external diagnostic features and a summary of the known geographic distribution of the species in the Philippine Islands.

Keywords:

• Apidae
• Xylocopa
• bee
• carpenter bee
• large carpenter bee
• Philippines

Acknowledgements

For opportunity to examine specimens in their care, I thank Seán Brady and Brian Harris at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. I also thank the staff of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries for their kind assistance in obtaining copies of all references. Two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript which greatly improved the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The author certifies that he has no financial interest or benefit arising from the direct applications of this research.