Hylaeus in Hawaii
Hylaeus in Hawaii |
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Hylaeus specularisIslands: Kauai, Oahu, Maui, HawaiiLocations: Kauai - (Awaawapuhi Trail, Na Pali-Kona FR) Oahu - (Manana Trail) Hawaii - (KFU) Habitats: Montane wet to mesic forest Plants: Cheirodendron, Claoxylon, Metrosideros, Myoporum, Scaevola Xerces: No info. Insects of Hawaii: Small bees with slightly smoky wings. Male face with three nearly separate marks (clypeus except the basal and lateral edges and paraocular areas up to or slightly above antennal sockets, but not the supraclypeal area); frons with dark spot in middle; scape moderately dilated and with long hair along median edge; pronotum and legs marked with yellow. Closely related to H. crabronoides, but without a thick head and with a large impunctate area above antennal socket. Female face with lowerparaocular area with irregular triangular yellow mark along the eye and up to level of antennal socket, rarely with a transverse apical mark on the clypeus; pronotum with yellow stripes on collar at sides and yellow lobes; legs with small, basal yellow spots on tibiae. Similar to H. dumetorum, but with the upper frons smooth and lustrous; see remarks for that species. Both Perkins (1911:723) and Fullaway (1918:395) commented on the possible synonymy of H. specularis, described from the female taken at Kilauea, and H. homoeochromus, described later from the male taken at Kilauea. The only type available is that of H. specularis. Hylaeus homoeochromus is treated here as a junior synonym because males and females that match the descriptions of the respective taxa have been collected together by D. T. Fullaway and KM, and have been genetically associated. Two females from Maui appear to be this species, although the impunctate area next to the lateral ocellus is not as shiny as in other specimens. Regardless of their identity, the recent discovery of this species on Kauai and Oahu means that it almost certainly inhabits Maui Nui as well. Males from Kauai have consistently broader, more curved, and more pointed gonoforceps than Hawaii specimens. Males from Oahu were not available to compare. Although found on many islands, it appears to be local and rare on all. Insects of Hawaii Volume 17 
UH/DOD: Hylaeus near military lands
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