The Males of Dialictus laevissimus (Smith) and D. rohweri (Ellis) (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

Extract

Proper association of males with females of the bee family Halictidae presents difficulties not found in most insect groups. In the north temperate zone males emerge in late summer, mate with the females and then die, only females surviving over winter. Collecting in spring and early summer therefore yields only females and only in the later collections do males appear.

Correct association between males and females may be secured by excavating burrows after males have emerged from the pupae, by collecting mating pairs or by making such extensive collections in a limited area that statistical evidence may be secured to support conclusions based on morphological features. This technique was used by the junior author in his original studies of Andrenidae and Halictidae (Atwood, 1933) but is by no means a universal practice. Consequently, many species names in the Halictidae are based on descriptions of one sex only while in other instances the association between male and female rests upon a very shaky foundation. This paper is designed to clarify the status of two species which are now in the above categories.