Accepted by C. Rasmussen: 11 Nov. 2013; published: 11 Dec. 2013 ZOOTAXA ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) Copyright © 2013 Magnolia Press Zootaxa 3746 (2): 393–400 www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article 393 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3746.2.9 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A0E533F2-955B-48C2-AFE9-487935534187 First record of the bee genus Homalictus Cockerell for China with description of a new species (Hymenoptera: Halictidae: Halictini) ZE-QING NIU 1 , PIA OREMEK 2 & CHAO-DONG ZHU 1,3 1 Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, P. R. China. E-mail: niuzq@ioz.ac.cn 2 Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics (380b), University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany. E-mail: pia.oremek@uni-hohenheim.de 3 Corresponding author. E-mail: zhucd@ioz.ac.cn Abstract This paper reports the first record of the genus Homalictus from China. We describe and illustrate H. (H.) nabanensis sp. n. collected from the Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China. The type speci- mens are deposited in Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Key words: Apiformes, taxonomy, new record, description, illustration Introduction Homalictus was erected by Cockerell in 1919 as subgenus for three Philippine species of Halictus in which “males resembled the females” (Cockerell 1919). Michener (1965) concluded that the genus Halictus did not occur in the Malayan region, the East Indies or Australia. He reassigned all Halictus species in these areas to Homalictus and Lasioglossum, and raised Homalictus to generic level, since it is believed to be distinct from the Halictus- Lasioglossum complex (Michener 1965). Blüthgen introduced the subgenus Indohalictus for certain species of Halictus in Indomalayan region (Blüthgen 1931). Later, Michener synonymized that subgenus with Homalictus for practical reasons (Michener 1965), suggesting that every character Blüthgen used were intergradation with Homalictus although Homalictus may well be divided into several subgenera (Michener 1980). Bees of the genus Homalictus are found from Sri Lanka and South-east Asia, eastward across the Pacific to the islands of Marianas and Samoa, although it has been most abundant in Australia (Michener 1965, 1980). At present, Homalictus has been divided into three subgenera, i.e., Homalictus Cockerell s. str., Papualictus Michener and Quasilictus Walker, and 101 species are recorded (Michener 2007). The diagnosis of Homalictus follows: third submarginal crossvein and second recurrent vein weaker than nearby veins in both sexes (Fig 1b); both sexes with the comb of short spines on distal margin of galea (Fig 1c, Fig 3c); metasomal terga of female, especially T1 to T3, usually sharply folded laterally, forming angle at margin between dorsal and ventrolateral parts of terga (Fig 2g); scopal hairs plumose with numerous lateral branches (Fig 2e), with those on sterna and ventrolateral parts of terga large, those of hind femur arising ventrally and especially at ends of femur forming femoral corbicula; pronotum and metanotum not yellow middorsally; dorsolateral angle of pronotum not produced to spine; gonobase of male genitalia usually continuing contours of gonocoxites (Michener 2007, Walker 1986). Homalictus (H.) is most abundant in Australia, where it occurs in all states, including Tasmania. It occurs on South Pacific islands east to Samoa, and in the central Pacific east to the Carolines and Marianas, as well as north through Indonesia to the Philippines, Viet Nam, Thailand, Malaysia, India, and Sri Lanka. H. (P .) is known from New Guinea and perhaps northern Queensland, Australia. H. (Q.) occurs in Northern and Western Australia. Homalictus (H.) can be distinguished from the other two subgenera by the following combined characters: hairs of lower distal part of outer surface of hind tibia short, uniform, erect, branched; undersurface of hind tibia concave (Fig 2f).