Taxonomy of the New World bee genus Agapostemon Guérin-Méneville – new names and synonymies (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

Many early taxonomic works on North American bees were published by Europeans using specimens collected in the New World, some with type locations so imprecise that uncertainty nomenclatural status remains to this day. Two examples come from Fabricius (1745–1808) who described Andrena virescens Fabricius, 1775 and Apis viridula 1793 “America” “Boreal America”, respectively. The former species of Agapostemon Guérin-Méneville, 1844 occurs across most United States southern Canada, latter presumed an endemic Cuba. materials these two taxa have never been compared each other, though a morphology-based phylogenetic analysis placed both distinct groups. Here we synonymize under Ag. virescens, thereby making femoralis (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) available as name for Cuban species. A lectotype (the genus Agapostemon) is hereby designated stabilize taxonomy. We also obscuratus Cresson, 1869 femoralis, suggesting it represents dark colour polymorphism. As cubensis Roberts, 1972 junior secondary homonym (Spinola, 1851), offer robertsi replacement former.