First record of two genera of Anthophorini and one genus of Melectini (Apinae: Apidae: Hymenoptera) from Pothwar Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Four species of wild bees (Apidae: Hymenoptera) belonging to two tribes viz. Anthophorini and Melectini have been recorded for the first time from the Pothwar tract of Punjab, Pakistan. Amegilla (Zonamegilla) cingulata (Fabricius, 1775) and Anthophora confusa (Smith, 1854) of tribe Anthophorini while two cleptoparasitic bee, Thyreus himalayensis (Radoszkowski, 1893) and Thyreus ramosus (Lepeletier, 1841) of tribe Melectini have been illustrated with the help of micro- photographs, floral host plants and their distribution range. These baseline studies will help the future research to manage these bees in these areas for the uplift of crop yield and future pollination studies.