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The cleptoparasitic bee genus Epeolus Latreille, 1802 is for the first time reviewed for species occurring in the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, and a single dichotomous identification key to the females and males of species present or likely to be present in these regions is presented. A total of 25 species have been confirmed as present across the region, although another 10 likely occur south of the Mexico–United States border. Three species are newly described—E. hanusiae sp. nov., E. nomadiformis sp. nov. and E. odyneroides sp. nov.—and redescriptions are provided for species occurring exclusively south of the United States of America (species occurring north of Mexico were recently revised elsewhere) except E. danieli (Genaro, 2014) comb. nov., which was recently described. One subspecies is elevated to species level (E. obscuripes Cockerell, 1917 stat. nov.). The following five names are newly synonymized under those of four valid species: Trophocleptria schraderi Michener, 1954 syn. nov. under E. boliviensis Friese, 1908, Tro. odontothorax Michener, 1954 syn. nov. under E. claripennis Friese, 1908, E. rugosus Cockerell, 1949 syn. nov. and E. xanthurus Cockerell, 1917 syn. nov. under E. luteipennis Friese, 1916, and E. schmidti Friese, 1925 syn. nov. under E. obscuripes. A diagnosis is provided for the presumably monophyletic and almost entirely Neotropical species group originally regarded as a separate genus, Trophocleptria Holmberg, 1886. Differential diagnoses accompany the descriptions / redescriptions of Neotropical species of Epeolus, and known collection records and information about their ecology are presented.
The bee genus Brachymelecta Linsley, 1939 has until now been represented by a single specimen, which has puzzled melittologists since its original description as Melecta? mucida Cresson, 1879. Through detailed morphological comparison and images, we show that the holotype is no more than an unusual specimen of a widespread species, most recently known as Xeromelecta californica (Cresson, 1878). We demonstrate that the diagnostic generic features for Brachymelecta fall within the range of morphological variation observed within X. californica. Although the names Brachymelecta and Xeromelecta Linsley, 1939 were published simultaneously, the former was proposed as a genus whereas the latter was proposed as a subgenus of Melecta Latreille, 1802. Thus, the following synonymies are proposed: Xeromelecta syn. nov. under Brachymelecta (since precedence must be given to the name that originally had the higher taxonomic rank) and M.? mucida syn. nov. under B. californica. Additionally, we present updated taxon concepts for and an identification key to the six known species now in Brachymelecta — B. alayoi (Michener, 1988), B. californica, B. haitensis (Michener, 1948), B. interrupta (Cresson, 1872), B. larreae (Cockerell, 1900), and B. tibialis (Fabricius, 1793) — along with redescriptions and a diagnosis for the genus. The male of B. alayoi and females of B. haitensis and B. tibialis are described for the first time. Furthermore, a phylogeny based on combined molecular and morphological data is proposed for Brachymelecta, and the evolution of the genus is explored in a historical biogeographic context.