New species of Elaphropoda Lieftinck, 1966 and Habropoda Smith, 1854 (Hymenoptera, Apidae) from Arunachal Pradesh, India
Abstract
Elaphropoda Lieftinck, 1966 and Habropoda Smith, 1854 are two rarely collected genera belonging to the family Apidae. Elaphropoda is found to be restricted to the Oriental region with 13 extant species. Habropoda is a rather extensively distributed genus with a total of 55 species worldwide. We describe two new species (Elaphropoda triangulata sp. nov. and Habropoda adi sp. nov.) belonging to these genera, based on two male specimens collected from Arunachal Pradesh, India. The importance of male holotypes in rarely collected Hymenoptera is highlighted. Also, the rarity of anthophorine bees in collections and the distribution pattern of Elaphropoda and Habropoda are discussed. Identification keys and distribution maps to the Indian species of Elaphropoda and Habropoda are provided.
References
Ascher J.S. & Pickering J. 2025. Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). Available from http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Apoidea_species [accessed 26 May 2026].
Boruah B., Deepak V. & Das A. 2023. Musicians in the marsh: a new species of music frog (Anura: Ranidae: Nidirana) from Arunachal Pradesh, India. Zootaxa 5374: 51–73. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5374.1.3
Boyane S.S., Sen S., Priyadarsanan D.R., Thunga P.K., Joshi N.U. & Ghate H.V. 2024. Integrative taxonomy of the genus Coridius Illiger, 1807 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Dinidoridae) reveals hidden diversity and three new species from North-East India. PloS ONE 19: e0298176. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298176
Brooks R.W. 1988. Systematics and phylogeny of the anthophorine bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae; Anthophorini). The University of Kansas Science Bulletin 53 (9): 437–575. Available from https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2972950 [accessed 26 May 2026].
Buck M., Marshall S.A. & Cheung D.K. 2008. Identification atlas of the Vespidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) of the northeastern Nearctic region. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification 5: 1-492. https://doi.org/10.3752/cjai.2008.05
Carion F., Gérard M., Ghisbain G. & Wood T.J. 2025. Unravelling Amegilla (Glossamegilla) diversity across the Wallace Line: new species, wing morphometrics, and biogeographic boundaries (Hymenoptera, Apidae). ZooKeys 1256: 1. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1256.162903
Dubitzky A. 2007. Phylogeny of the world Anthophorini (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apidae). Systematic Entomology 32: 585–600. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.2007.00397.x
Engel M.S. 2018. A new genus of anthophorine bees from Brunei (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of Melittology 78: 1–13. https://doi.org/10.17161/jom.v0i78.7488
Falk S. 2019. Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Ghisbain G., Flaminio S., Radchenko V.G. & Michez D. 2023. Dasypoda delectabilis sp. nov., a morphologically intriguing pantaloon bee species from south-eastern Iran (Hymenoptera: Melittidae). Zoology in the Middle East 69: 262–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/09397140.2023.2233762
Goulet H. & Huber J.T. 1993. Hymenoptera of the World: An Identification Guide to Families. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.
Hurd P.D. & Michener C.D. 1955. The Megachiline Bees of California (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Bulletin of the California Insect Survey 3, University of California Press.
Kunte K. 2025. Caliphaea sinuofurcata sp. nov.(Odonata: Zygoptera: Calopterygidae) from Arunachal Pradesh, India. Zootaxa 5637: 139-154. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5637.1.6
Leberge W.E. & Michener C.D. 1963. Deltoptila, a Middle American genus of anthophorine bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum 4 (9): 211–226. Available from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/museumbulletin/10 [accessed 26 May 2026].
Lieftinck M.A. 1944. Some Malaysian bees of the family Anthophoridae (Hym., Apoidea). Treubia Special Volume: 57–139.
Lieftinck M.A. 1956. Revision of some oriental anthophorine bees of the genus Amegilla Friese (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). Zoologische Verhandelingen 30: 1–41. Available from https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/317723 [accessed 26 May 2026].
Lieftinck M.A. 1966. Notes on some anthophorine bees, mainly from the Old World (Apoidea). Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 109: 125–161. Available from https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28224096 [accessed 26 May 2026].
Lieftinck M.A. 1974. Review of Central and East Asiatic Habropoda F. Smith, with Habrophorula, a new genus from China (Hymenoptera, Anthophoridae). Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 117: 157–224. Available from https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28200753 [accessed 26 May 2026].
Michener C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World. 2nd Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Mirza Z.A., Bragin A.M., Bhosale H., Gowande G.G., Patel H. & Poyarkov N.A. 2022. A new ancient lineage of ablepharine skinks (Sauria: Scincidae) from eastern Himalayas with notes on origin and systematics of the group. PeerJ 10: e12800. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12800
Murphy D.C. 2019. Latest Cretaceous–early Eocene Pacific-Arctic?-Atlantic connection: Co-evolution of strike-slip fault systems, oroclines, and transverse fold-and-thrust belts in the northwestern North American Cordillera. In: Piepjohn K., Strauss J.V., Reinhardt L. & McClelland W.C. (eds) Circum-Arctic Structural Events: Tectonic Evolution of the Arctic Margins and Trans-Arctic Links with Adjacent Orogens. Geological Society of America 541: 665–686. https://doi.org/10.1130/2018.2541(28)
Myers N., Mittermeier R.A., Mittermeier C.G., Da Fonseca G.A. & Kent J. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403: 853–858. https://doi.org/10.1038/35002501
Natural History Museum 2014. Collection Specimens [Data set]. Natural History Museum. https://doi.org/10.5519/0002965
Nguyen M.P., Tran N.T., Nguyen D.D. & Nguyen L.T.P. 2016. Contribution to taxonomy and distribution of the genus Elaphropoda (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Apinae) in Vietnam. Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity 32: 118–122. https://doi.org/10.5635/ased.2016.32.2.118
Rehan S.M., Leys R. & Schwarz M.P. 2013. First evidence for a massive extinction event affecting bees close to the KT boundary. PLoS ONE 8: e76683. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0076683
Sahanashree R., Punnath A. & Priyadarsanan D.R. 2024. A remarkable new species of Paraparatrechina Donisthorpe (1947) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Formicinae) from the Eastern Himalayas, India. ZooKeys 1203: 159–172. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1203.114168
Saikia B., Sinha B., Shabnam A., Kharkongor I.J. & Dinesh K. 2024. On a new species of Xenophrys (Anura: Megophryidae) from Tale Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India with comments on the earlier erroneous report as X. maosonensis (Bourret, 1937). Records of the Zoological Survey of India 124 (1S): 21–40. https://doi.org/10.26515/rzsi/v124/i1S/2024/172712
Saini J., Chandra K., Kumar H., Ghosh D.J., Kazmi S., Payra A. & Deepak C. 2018. Diversity of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in and around Namdapha national park, with an updated checklist from Arunachal Pradesh, India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 118 (4): 413–425. https://doi.org/10.26515/rzsi/v118/i4/2018/122641
Saini J., Chandra K., Kumar H. & Hooda S. 2021. Two new species of genus Elaphropoda Lieftinck, 1966 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Apidae: Apinae: Anthophorini) from Arunachal Pradesh, India. Journal of Entomological Research 45: 765–768. https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-4576.2021.00123.7
Smith F. 1854. Catalogue of Hymenopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Part II: Apidae. British Museum, London. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.20858
Streinzer M., Chakravorty J., Neumayer J., Megu K., Narah J., Schmitt T., Bharti H., Spaethe J. & Brockmann A. 2019. Species composition and elevational distribution of bumble bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus Latreille) in the East Himalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, India. ZooKeys 851: 71–89. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.851.32956
Stubblefield J.W. & Seger J. 1994. Sexual dimorphism in the Hymenoptera. In: Short R.V. & Balaban E. (eds) The Differences between the Sexes: 71–103. Harvard University, Massachusetts.
Tran N.T. & Engel M.S. 2025. A contribution to the knowledge of Habropoda from Vietnam (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 73: 125–152. https://doi.org/10.26107/RBZ-2025-0009
Winston J.E. & Disney H. 2000. Describing species: practical taxonomic procedure for biologists. Nature 405: 619. https://doi.org/10.1038/35015154
Wu Y.-R. 1979. A study of the Chinese Habropoda and Elaphropoda with descriptions of new species (Apoidea, Apidae). Acta Entomologica Sinica 22 (3): 343–348.
Wu Y.-R. 1984. A new species of Anthophoridae from Yunnan Province (Apoidea: Anthophoridae). Zoological Research 5: 25–27.
Wu Y.-R. 1985. A new species of Elaphropoda from China (Apoidea, Anthophoridae). Zoological Research 6 (4): 377–379.
Wu Y.-R. 1991. Studies on Chinese Habropodini with descriptions of new species (Apoidea: Anthophoridae). Scientific Treatise on Systematic and Evolutionary Zoology 1: 215–233.
Copyright (c) 2026 Femi Ezhuthupallickal Benny, Dharma Rajan Priyadarsanan

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons Copyright Notices
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are NOT PERMITTED to post their submitted work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on personal websites) prior to publication, as it may lead to nomenclatural issues.
