ELECTROPHORETIC EVIDENCE THATLASIOGLOSSUM (EVYLAEUS) MEDITERRANEUM(BLÜTHGEN) IS A SPECIES DISTINCT FROML.(E.) LATICEPS(SCHENCK) (HYMENOPTERA, HALICTIDAE), WITH NOTES ON ITS PHYLOGENETIC POSITION

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Abstract
We show thatLasioglossum mediterraneum(Blüthgen) (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) is a species distinct fromL.laticeps(Schenck) based upon electrophoretic analysis of 39 allozyme loci for sympatric populations collected from the Dordogne region of France. The genetic identity between the two is below average for sibling species of insects: no fewer than 10 fixed allelic differences were found. In contrast, allopatricL.laticepspopulations (from the Dordogne and Paris) are genetically almost identical (I= 0.998). Heterozygosity estimates for both species are low, as is often the case with Hymenoptera. Diagnostic characteristics that can be used to separate the two species are described. A phylogeny for nine species of the subgenusEvylaeusis constructed from allozyme data.