Bull 571 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Najm and Al-Jassany Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2023) 17(4): 571- 588. https://doi.org/10.26842/binhm.7.2023.17.4.0571 ORIGINAL ARTICLE A CHECKLIST OF MEGACHILID BEES (HYMENOPTERA, MEGACHILIDAE), WITH A NEW RECORD GENUS FROM IRAQ Asawir Dhafer Najm * and Radhi F. Al-Jassany Department of Plant Protection, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, Iraq. *Corresponding author E-mail: radhi.f@coagri.uobaghdad.edu.iq Recived Date: 13 April 2023, Accepted Date 12 June 2023, Published Date:20 December 2023 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ABSTRACT An updated checklist of the Megachilid bees of Iraq is presented in this paper. The current list includes 31 species belonging to 10 genera, under the tribes Lithurgini, Osmiini, Anthidiini, and Megachilini within the Megachilinae subfamily. The basionyms, synonyms, and distribution of species in the world are also given. Based on the specimens, which obtained during this study, a diagnostic key was designed to identify the tribes and genera; the genus Heriades Spinola, 1808 (Tribe, Osmiini) is recorded for the first time in the Iraqi entomofauna. Keywords: Hymenoptera, Iraq, Heriades, Bees, Megachilid. INTRODUCTION Megachilidae was divided into two families, Fideliinae and Megachilinae, as the latter is larger than the first subfamily as it includes most of the family species, and the most widespread in the world. It includes five tribes: Lithurgini, Osmiini, Anthidiini, Megachilini, and Dioxyini; while the first family includes two tribes, Fidelini and Parahophitini (Roig- Alsina and Michener, 1993). Megachilidae is a primitive bee that is called the long tongued bees' because they have relatively elongated mouthparts (Danforth et al., 2006; Michener, 2007). Megachilid bees are the second highest members among the related families (Michener, 2007); this family belongs to the superfamily Apoidea within the order Apocrita, along with six other families, including Apidae, Halictidae, Andrenidae, Colletidae, Stenotritidae, and Melittidae, in the order Hymenoptera (Aguiar et al., 2013). It includes about 4399 species distributed throughout the world (GBIF Secretariat, 2023). Most species of the family have nest-building behavior for the purpose of laying eggs and feeding brood, as many different materials are used to build the nest, including the cutting of the edge of plant leaves that they lend in a circular manner, hence the name of the family BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Iraq Natural History Research Center & Museum, University of Baghdad https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/Home Copyright © Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum Online ISSN: 2311-9799-Print ISSN: 1017-8678 https://doi.org/10.26842/binhm.7.2023.17.4.0571 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7644-4252 mailto:radhi.f@coagri.uobaghdad.edu.iq https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/Home 572 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM A checklist of megachilid bees leaf-cutting bees (Goulet and Huber, 1993). Bees are considered one of the most beneficial insects to humans as they play a major role in the sexual reproduction of many crops, which constitute 65% of the world's food production (Klein et al., 2007). Females have a tuft of hair to hold pollen called scopa located below the abdomen (Eardley et al., 2010; Gardener, 2013); except for the species which called cleptoparasitic, as in species of Coelioxys Latreille, 1809 that larvae kill larvae of the species of Megachile Latreille, 1802 they do not have this structure (Al-Ali, 1977; Michener, 2007; Rowson and Pavett, 2008). In Iraq, some studies were conducted on this family, including a taxonomic study based on the mouth parts (Abbas, 2015); then Ahmed (2015) conducted a study on the species of wild bees from the northern of Iraq, and Augul (2018) surveyed the species of pollinators from some regions of Iraq, including species affiliated to Megachilidae. There were other studies focused on honey bees, for example: Al-Hujaimi and Taher (2012), AL- Kafage and AL – Bedrey (2016), Al-Badri (2017), Shaher and Nasrallah (2018), Awwad and Shaher (2023), Dagher and Shaher (2023), while wild bees didn’t find sufficient attention by researchers despite their great importance as pollinators, in addition to the possibility of being environmental evidence of biodiversity health. As above, the current study was suggested to prepare a list of the megachild species, including their basionym and synonym names, to be an updated database for future studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS Samplings: Totally, 587 specimens were obtained for the period from May 1 2022 to March 4 2023, the specimens were collected at different regions of Iraq, which included: Baghdad, Babylon, Karbala, Wasit, Diyala, Salahaddin, and Duhok Provinces. Surveys were conducted in the cultivated and wild fields, using aerial and sweeping nets. The collections involved searching through plants, the ground, and the expected places for nesting, like dry tree branches (Pl. 1). As well, we also relied on the specimens that were preserved and diagnosed in the previous studies at the Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum, University of Baghdad. Plate (1): (A) Wild plants, (B) Damage of leaves by leaf cutting bees, (C) Alfalfa plant field. 573 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Najm and Al-Jassany Examination of materials: Specimens were preserved by drying and pinning, supported by locality information. Morphological features and insects' images were done using a digital microscope camera with RF4 microscope, Camera Lucida to draw, and Samsung A52 mobile camera. Scale bars were given for all the images. Metasoma was dissected to study the tergites and sternites morphological features. Identification: The keys of Michener (2007), Stephen (1969), and Gupta (1990) are utilized to determine the genera, and reformulated to be suitable to identify with our specimens that we obtained them throughout this study. The study documented and updated the scientific nomenclature and explained synonyms according to Ungricht et al. (2008), Grace (2010), Özbek and Schwarz (2016), Salem and EL- Azab (2017), Augul (2018), Praz and Benon (2023), and GBIF Secretariat (2023). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Based on the collected specimens, a total of 31 species within 9 genera of Megachilidae were recorded from Iraq, all of them belonging to the subfamily of Megachilinae. Most of the genera belong to the tribes Megachilini, Anthidiini and Osmiini, whereas the lowest species belong to Lithurgini .These genera and are species as follows: Family, Megachilidae Subfamily, Megachilinae Latreille, 1802 Tribe, Anthidiini Ashmed, 1899 Genus, Anthidium Fabricius, 1804 Material Examined (7specimens): Duhok, Ashawa, 26.ix.2022, on Mentha sp. flowers. Anthidium florentinum (Fabricius, 1775) Basionym: Apis florentina Fabricius, 1775 Synonyms: Anthidium caucasicum Radoszkowski, 1862 A. florentinum subsp. caucasicum Radoszkowski, 1862 A. florentinum subsp. cypriacum Mavromoustakis, 1949 A. florentinum subsp. florentinum (Fabricius, 1775) A. florentinum subsp. hispanicum Mocsáry, 1884 A. florentinum subsp. rufescente Alfken, 1935 A.florentinum subsp. rufescente Dusmet y Alonso, 1908 A. florentinum subsp. subspinosum Klug, 1832 A. helianthinum Wu, 2004 Distribution: Iraq (Khalaf and Al–Omar, 1974). Grace (2010) listed this species in the countries: Greece, Macedonia, Crete, Iran, and Turkey. Anthidium tesselatum Klug, 1832 Synonyms: A. helvolum Klug, 1832 A. lanitarse Friese, 1917 A. lanitarse Mavromoustakis, 1936 A. signiferum Walker, 1871 574 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM A checklist of megachilid bees A. tesselatum subsp. aegyptiacum Friese, 1897 A. tesselatum subsp. zebra Benoist, 1950 A. villosulum Smith, 1854 A. waltlii Spinola, 1838 Distribution: Iraq Derwesh (1965). Warncke (1980) recorded this species in Egypt. Grace (2010) listed it in Jordon, and Lebanon. Genus, Anthidiellum Cockerell, 1904 Material Examined (7 specimens): Wasit, Aziziyah, Al Zalja Village, 26.vii.2022; Diyala, Al 'Abara District, Qasiba Village, 8.ix.2022, on Medicago sp. flowers. Anthidiellum strigatum (Panzer, 1804) Basionym: Trachusa strigata Panzer, 1804 Synonyms: A. pauperculum Cockerell, 1928 A. strigatum subsp. rhodium Tkalcu, 2006 Anthidium coronatum Dufour, 1853 A. decoratum Chevrier, 1872 A. minusculum Nylander, 1852 A. quadristrigatum Germar, 1815 A. scapulare Schenck, 1851 A. strigatum (Panzer, 1804) A. strigatum subsp. humerale Alfken, 1936 A. strigatum subsp. ibericum Alfken, 1936 A. strigatum subsp. judaicum Alfken, 1936 A. strigatum subsp. palaestinense Alfken, 1935 Dianthidium leucorhinum Cockerell, 1924 Distribution: Derwesh (1965) listed this species in Iraq under the synonym name Anthidium strigatum Panzer. Warncke (1980) indicated the presence of Anthidiellum strigatum in Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, North Africa, Cyprus, Europe, Greece, Central Asia, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. Libya (Grace, 2010). To addition, the subspecies of A. s. crassepunctatum Popov, 1935 was recorded in Iraq by Grace (2010). Genus, Icteranthidium Michener, 1948 Icteranthidium sp. Distribution: Iraq (Abbas, 2015). Ranges of Icteranthidium: Portugal and Morocco to Mongolia; although this genus primarily found in Asia's xeric regions, also can be found in Northern Africa, Senegal, Kenya, Chad, Mali, and Pakistan (Michener, 2007). Genus, Stelis Panzer, 1806 Stelis annulata (Lepeletier, 1841) Basionym: Anthidium annulatum Lepeletier, 1841 Synonyms: Stelis freygessneri Friese, 1885 Distribution: Iraq (Proshchalykin and Fateryga, 2017). Greece, and Turkey (Grace, 2010). 575 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Najm and Al-Jassany Stelis nasuta (Latreille, 1809) Basionym: Anthidium nasutum Latreille, 1809 Synonyms: Anthidium nasale Latreille, 1809 Stelidomorpha nasuta (Latreille, 1809) Distribution: Iraq (Proshchalykin and Fateryga, 2017). Grace (2010) listed this species in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Greece, and Turkey. Stelis phaeoptera (Kirby, 1802) Basionym: Apis phaeoptera Kirby, 1802 Synonyms: Apis aterrima Christ, 1791 A. stigma Christ, 1791 Stelis phaeoptera subsp. meridionalis Popov, 1933 S. phaeoptera subsp. phaeoptera (Kirby, 1802) Distribution: In Iraq listed by Derwesh (1965). Grace (2010) listed this species to, Egypt, Libya, and Greece. Stelis signata (Latreille, 1809) Basionym: Anthidium signata Latreille, 1809 Synonym: Anthidium parvulum Lepeletier, 1841 Stelis strigata Kriechbaumer, 1874 Distribution: Iraq (Derwesh, 1965). (Grace, 2010) listed this species to Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, and Turkey. The subspecies of S. s. eremica Alfken, 1938 is recorded in Iraq by Grace (2010). Tribe, Lithurgini Genus, Lithurgus Berthold, 1827 Material Examined (13specimens): Baghdad, Jadriyah District, 6.vii.2022, on flowers of Glycyrrhiza sp.; Wasit, Aziziyah, Zawiyat Al Zaraa Village, 26.vii.2022, on flowers of Medicago sp.; Babylon, Mashro,a Al-Musayib, Abu-Sha,eer, 6.ix.2022, on plant of Sesamum sp. Lithurgus tibialis Morawitz, 1875 Distribution: Iraq Derwesh (1965). Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Iran, and Egypt (Grace, 2010). Tribe, Megachilini Genus, Coelioxys Latreille, 1809 Material Examined (9 specimens): Baghdad, Jadriyah District, 6.vii.2022, on plant Glycyrrhiza sp.; Wasit, Aziziyah, Zawiyat Al Zaraa Village, 26.vii.2022, on Medicago sp. Coelioxys afra Lepeletier, 1841 Synonyms: Coelioxita afra (Lepeletier, 1841 Coelioxys afer Lepeletier, 1941 C. afra subsp. melanafra Cockerell, 1935 576 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM A checklist of megachilid bees C. afra subsp. tunensis Gribodo, 1894 C. coronata Förster, 1853 C. mandibularis Chevrier, 1872 C. pusilla Gerstäcker, 1858 Distribution: Iraq (Derwesh, 1965). Africa (Pasteels, 1977). Algeria, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Russia, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (Warncke, 1992). South, Eastern and Central Europe, the UK, Asia Minor (Banaszak and Romasenko, 1998). Range from Western Europe to China, and Indonesia (Proshchalykn and Lelej, 2004. Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and Egypt (Grace, 2010). Iran (Khaghaninia et al., 2010). Coelioxys coturnix Pérez, 1884 Synonyms: C. ruficaudis Cameron, 1913 C. taurus Nurse, 1902 Distribution: Iraq (Derwesh, 1965). Palaearctic (Ortiz-Sánchez, 2014). Coelioxys circumscriptus Schulz, 1906 Synonyms: Coelioxys circumscripta Schulz, 1906 C. circumscriptus Friese, 1905 C. decipiens subsp. circumscriptus Schulz, 1906 C. decipiens subsp. rufipes Friese, 1904 C. lanosa Friese, 1922 C. latidens Friese, 1922 C. pachyura Cockerell, 1920 Liothryapis circumscripta (Schulz, 1906) L. circumscripta (Schulz) Distribution: According to Derwesh (1965). This species is known as Coelioxys decipiens Spinola in Iraq. Moreover, according to Ornosa et al. (2007), Ortiz-Sánchez et al. (2009), and Grace (2010) this species spread from North Africa to Asia Minor, Central Asia, and the Himalayas to Crete, Cyprus, Turkey, and Asia Minor. Coelioxys haemorrhoa Forster, 1853 Synonyms: C. pulchella Morawitz, 1874 C. rhodacantha Cockereli, 1931 Distribution: Iraq listed by Derwesh (1965). Grace (2010) listed it to Israel, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Aegean and Turkey. Based on GBIF Secretariat (2023), its have distributes in France, Italy, Spine, France, India, Slovakia, and Morocco. Coelioxys obtusus Pérez, 1884 Synonym: C. obtusa Pérez, 1884 Distribution: According to Derwesh (1965). This species is known as Coelioxys obtusa Pérez in Iraq. Turkey (Özbek and van der Zanden, 1994). Based on Ascher and Pickering (2020), it's recorded in France, Greece, Croatia, Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Caucasus Italy, Poland, Iran, and Turkmenistan. 577 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Najm and Al-Jassany Genus, Megachile Latreille, 1802 Material Examined (545 specimens): Baghdad, Bismayah City, 2.vii.2022 on flowers of Medicago sp. Wasit, Aziziyah, Zawiyat Al-Zara’e, 26.vii.2022, on flowers of Medicago sp., Vigna sp. and Alhagi sp.; Babylon, Abu-Shaer and Dulaimi 6.xii.2022 on flowers of Medicago sp. and Alhagi sp. Karbala, Alshariea, 2.v.2022 on flowers of Alhagi sp. Diyala, Khimara, Badina, Kasiba and Khan bani saed, 8.ix.2022 on flowers of Medicago sp. and Alhagi sp. Duhok, Veen, Gali Shirana and Ashawh, 24.ix.2022 on flowers of Mentha sp. Megachile apicalis Spinola, 1808 Synonyms: Megachile dimidiativentris Dours, 1873 M. massiliensis Pérez, 1902 M. mixta Costa, 1863 M. virginiana Mitchell, 1926 Distribution: Iraq (Khalaf and Al–Omar, 1974). Eurasia and United States (James and Pitts- Singer, 2008). Egypt and Libya were not mentioned, although there were reports for Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, Greece, Rhodes, and North Africa (Grace, 2010). Megachile argentata (Fabricius, 1793) Basionym: Apis argentata Fabricius, 1793 Synonyms: Anthophora albiventris Panzer, 1806 Apis albiventris, Panzer, 1898 Megachile argentata spinola, 1806 M. crassula Perez, 1896 M. leachella Curtis, 1828 M. argyrea Cockerell, 1931 Perezia maura Ferton, 1914 Trachusa argentata Lurine, 1807 Distribution: Iraq (Derwesh, 1965). Europe (Özbek and van der Zanden, 1994). North- Eastern China, Caucasus, North Africa, and North America (Proshchalykin, 2007). Grace (2010) listed it in Syria. Balzan et al. (2016) recorded it in Algeria, and Hungary. Megachile babylonica Rebmann, 1970 Distribution: Iraq (Grace, 2010). Megachile concinna Smith, 1879 Synonyms: M. atratula Rebmann, 1968 M. privigna Rebmann, 1968 M. sudai Ikudome, 1999 M. variscopa Pérez, 1895 Distribution: Iraq (GBIF Secretariat, 2023). Holarctic Region (Ascher and Pickering, 2020). Megachile farinosa Smith, 1853 Synonyms: Chalicodoma derasa (Gerstäcker, 1869) C. farinosa (Smith, 1853) 578 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM A checklist of megachilid bees Megachile derasa Gerstäcker, 1869 Distribution: Chalicodoma farinosa (Smith, 1853) is the name Grace (2010) gave this species in Iraq. Turkey and Egypt (Ascher and Pickering, 2020). Megachile flavipes Spinola, 1838 Synonym: Megachile marginata Smith, 1833 Distribution: Iraq (Derwesh, 1965). Turkey (Warncke, 1992), and Iran (Grace, 2010). Megachile minutissima Radoszkowski 1876 Distribution: Iraq (Derwesh, 1965). Egypt and Turkey (Grace, 2010). Megachile rotundata (Fabricius, 1787) Basionym: Apis rotundata Fabricius, 1787 Synonyms: Apis pacifica Panzer, 1798 Megachile imbecilla Gerstäcker, 1869 M. nadia Nurse, 1903 M. pruinosa Pérez, 1897 M. rotundata (Fabricius, 1793) Distribution: Iraq (Derwesh, 1965). Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and Aegean (Grace, 2010). Megachile schnabli Radoszkowski, 1893 Synonyms: Chalicodoma schnabli (Radoszkowski, 1893) Megachile schnablii Radoszkowski, 1893 Distribution: In Iraq registered by Derwesh (1965). Ascher and Pickering (2020) listed it in Turkmenistan, Iran, and Tajikistan. Megachile squamosa Rebmann, 1970 Distribution: In Iraq, it listed by Grace (2010). Megachile striatella Rebmann, 1968 Distribution: Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Greece and Libya (Grace, 2010). Tribe, Osmiini Genus, Heriades Spinola, 1808 Heriades sp. Material Examined (5 specimens): They collected from Duhok Province, Great Zab River, nearby the Veen Waterfall, Duhok Prov. (37°02'05.2"N 43°44'36.5"E), 25.ix.2022 on flowers of Mentha sp. Note: The genus of Heriades is newly record from Iraq. Genus, Osmia Panzer, 1806 Material Examined (1specimen): Salahaddin, Tikrit, 4.iii.2023 on flowers of Raphanus sp. Osmia atrocaerulea Schilling, 1849 579 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Najm and Al-Jassany Synonym: Osmia brevicornis (Fabricius, 1798) Distribution: Derwesh (1965) listed this species in Iraq under the name of Osmia brevicornis (Fabricius, 1798). Romania (Ban-Calefariu, 2009). Osmia gutturalis Warnke, 1988 Synonym: Osmia milenae Tkalcu, 1992 Distribution: Iraq (Ahmed, 2015); East Mediterranean (Müller, 2021). Osmia indigotea Morawitz, 1875 Distribution: Iraq (Derwesh, 1965). Afghanistan (GBIF Secretariat, 2023). Osmia leaiana (Kirby, 1802) Basionym: Apis leaiana Kirby, 1802 Synonyms: Apis hirta Geoffroy, 1785 A. melodes Harris, 1776 A. tacitus Harris, 1776 A. ventralis Panzer, 1798 Osmia atra Schenck, 1853 O. confusa Morawitz, 1870 O. forsii Alfken, 1924 O. fulviventris Smith, 1855 O. hirta Smith, 1844 O. leiana (Kirby, 1802) O. solskyi Morawitz, 1870 O. truncatula Thomson, 1872 O. ventralis (Panzer, 1798) O. ventralis subsp. schachti Warncke, 1988 Distribution: World-wide distribution (GBIF Secretariat, 2023). Genus, Protosmia Ducke, 1900 Protosmia paradoxa (Friese 1899) Basionym: Osmia paradoxa Friese, 1899 Distribution: Osmia paradoxa Fr. is recorded in fauna of Iraq under this name by Khalaf and Al–Omar (1974). Grace (2010) listed it in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, and Syria. Key to tribes and genera that collected in the current study: 1-Pygidial plates present (Pl.2 A); in female, it represented by apical spine.......... Lithurgini -Pygidial plate absent …………..………………………….………………………..…...…2 2-Pterostigma less than twice as long as broad (Pl.2 B); prestigma usually short. Body with yellow marks…………………………… Anthidiini …….……………………..……….4 -Pterostigma longer than broad by more than twice (Pl.2 C). Body color without yellow marks ………………………………………………….………………………….…….... 3 580 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM A checklist of megachilid bees 3- Pretarsi without arolia (Pl.2 D); especially in hind legs……..... Megachilini ..…........….5 -Arolia present (Pl.2 E)………….....………………........………….. Osmiini ..................6 4-Subantennal sutures more or less strongly arched outward (Pl.2 F)…........... Anthidiellum -Subantennal sutures direct (Pl.2 G)……………....………..…......................... Anthidium 5- Metasoma rounded distally (Pl.2 H)…………..…….……..…....………......… Megachile -Metasoma pointed distally (Pl.2 I)…...……..………………………….…….... Coelioxys 6- Parapsidal line liner (Fig. 1. A) …...…………..……………………………........ Heriades - Parapsidal line punctiform (Fig. 1. B) ….….............................................................Osmia Plate (2): (A) Pygidial plate, Lithurgus sp., (B) Pterostigma, Anthidiini, (C) Pterostigma, Megachilini, (D) Claws without arolia, Megachilini, (E) Claws with arolia, Osmiini, (F) Subantennal suture, Anthidiellum, (G) Subantennal suture, Anthidium sp., (H) Megachile sp., terminal segments of metasoma, (I) Coelioxys sp., terminal segments of metasoma. Description of male Heriades Spinola, 1808 Members of Heriades have a small body, length 4-5 mm; sparsely- haired, black bees, and an integument with very coarsely punctured and thin, pale hair bands on the metasoma (Pl. 3 A, B). Head rounded, width and height 1-1.5 mm, vertex contains three ocelli triangular, H 581 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Najm and Al-Jassany distance between ocelli smaller than distance between them and occiput. Front with white hair upwards. Clypeus with white hair on sideways, anterior ridge truncate beneath little density pubescence, lateral ridge with projection (Pl. 3 C). Gena pubescence; mandibles black, tridentate three, apical tooth radish–brown. Mouthparts short, not/ or rarely exceeding proboscidial fossa in rust (Pl. 3 D). Flagellomeres dark-brown, scape and pedicel black, first flagellomeres smaller than second. Thorax: width 1-1.5 mm, length 1-2mm.Tegula dark- brown except for the ridges hyaline. Scutum punctured with a parapsidal line. Scutellum with tapered side edges extending to the back, posterior margin pubescence. Metanoutum with anterior margin carinate and projected upwards. Propodeal dorsum with horizontal basal area consisting of a series of large punctures, separated by a carina from posterior declivous surface (Fig. 1. A). Fore wing length 2.5- 3mm, hyaline except basal dark- brown, veins darker brown, basal vein (M) straight, with two submarginal cells (SMC), SMC1 a little bigger than SMC2, and prestigma more than twice as long as broad. Hind wing shorter than fore wing, hyaline, veins darker brown, jugal lobe less than venal lobe. Coxae: black, rounded with dorsal carinate absent punctate on front coxa, little dense pubescence, trochanter rectangular, narrow basally, wider apically with white setae; femora black, slender in shape, wider basally, narrow apically, with densely and whitish hairs dorsally. Tibiae black, narrow at basally, wider apically, with dense and white hairs dorsally, fore and mid tibiae with one spur (Pl. 3. E), hind tibia with two spurs; tarsi black, five segments, with reddish- brown setae, length of all basitarsus three times more than width, fore basitarsus with an apical notch; claws bifid, reddish- brown, arolia present. Metasoma curved under so that (Pl. 2. F), apex almost touching first or second sterna, anterior surface of T1 concave with a distance carina between dorsal and anterior surfaces, posterior margin with short setae laterally so that T2, while T3 with apical transverse carinate, T5 with short white setae straight, T6 helmet like with lateral dents (Fig. 1. G), T7 completely hidden by sixth, sternites hidden except S1and, S2. Diagnostic characters: T1 with distinct concave anteriorly, anterior and dorsal surfaces with distinct transverse carina (Pl. 3 B). T7 hidden by un-toothed T6, metasoma usually curled, only exposing two sterna. S2 and S3 notched or steppe posteriorly – laterally (Pl. 3 F, G). 582 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM A checklist of megachilid bees Plate (3): Heriades sp.; (A) Male, dorsal view, (B) Habitat, lateral view, (C) Front view of face, (D) Proboscidial fossa, (E) Mid leg, [fa] sixth terga, helmet like with lateral dents, Puncture, (F) Second sternite, notched, (G) Third sternite, notched. Figure (1): (A) Male, Heriades sp., dorsal view of thorax (Parapsidal line liner in Scutum, axilla and large pits on propodeum), (B) Osmia sp., parapsidal line punctiform, (C) Sixth terga, helmet like with lateral dents, and punctures. 583 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Najm and Al-Jassany CONCLUSIONS According to our observation fields, the members of this family have a less active in the early morning; their activity begins to increase with the rise in temperatures, reaching its peak in the middle of the day. These bees divers on many flowers, including: Medicago sp., Alhagi sp., Sesamum sp., Vigna sp., Glycyrrhiza sp., Mentha sp. and Capsicum sp.; however, some of them prefer a particular plant, such as Megachile spp., we find in high density on alfalfa plant. Finally, it is expected that new species will be recorded in Iraq when searching for them in other localities; as is the case for the new record genus Heriades, which we have not identified at the level of the species, this requires further specimens, in addition to the lack of recent keys, and we believe it to be a new species for science, since the genus is obscure and not widespread in the neighboring areas of Iraq. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are thankful to the Iraq Natural History Research Centre and Museum workers for their assistance and facilitating the check of specimens held in the Entomology and Invertebrates Department's collection. As well, we extend our sincere thanks to Assistant Prof. Dr. Khansaa Rasheed Al-Joboury, Department of Botany & Environment, in this center to support the identification of plants. CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT The results of the current study are part of the requirements of M.Sc. in Insects, Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad for the first author. Also, we confirm and declare the existence of any relationship or conflict of interest with any other party. LITERATURE CITED Al-Ali, A. S. 1977. Phytophagous and entomophagous insects and mites of Iraq. Natural History Research Center Iraq, Publication, 33: 1-142. Al-Hujaimi, K. W. S. and Taher, I. J. 2012, Pollution of honey bees with lead and cadmium, Iraqi Journal of Agricultural Science, 43(15): 68-63. Abbas, M. A. 2015. A taxonomic study of the mouth parts of the genera of the bee family Leaf cutting bees (Megachilidae: Hymenoptera) in some regions of Iraq. Master Thesis on Plant Protection, Agriculture College, University of Karbala, 90 pp. [Click here] Aguiar, A. P., Deans, A. R ., Engel M.S., Forshage, M., Huber J.T., Jennings J.T., Johnson N. 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(2023) 17(4): 571-588. قاطعات االوراقعائلة نحل قائمة املرجعية ل (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) للعراقجنس جديد تسجيلمع اساور ظافر اسهيل و راض ي فاضل الجصاني قسم وقاية النبات، كلية علوم الهندسة الزراعية، جامعة بغداد، بغداد، العراق 20/12/2023، تأريخ النشر: 12/6/2023القبول: ، تأريخ 13/4/2023تأريخ االستالم: الخالصة نوًعا 31شملت ، اذفي العراق Megachilidقدمت قائمة مراجعة محدثة لنحل و Anthidiiniو Osmiiniو Lithurginiأجناس، تحت قبائل 10ينتمي إلى Megachilini ضمن عويلةMegachilinae واالسماء . كما ذكرت االسماء املرادفة مع توزيع االنواع في العالم. (االساسيةلية )االص بناًء على العينات التي تم الحصول عليها خالل هذه الدراسة ، تم تصميم مفتاح ألول Heriades Spinola, 1808الجنس سجلحيث تشخيص ي للقبائل واالجناس؛ مرة للمجموعة الحشرية العراقية.