A contribution to the knowledge of wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) from Georgia (Sakartvelo), with twenty-four new country records

Chubinidze, Maia; Ljubomirov, Toshko; Murvanidze, Maka; Japoshvili, George

doi:10.48311/jibs.12.04.759

A contribution to the knowledge of wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) from Georgia (Sakartvelo), with twenty-four new country records

Articles in Press

Document Type : Full-length Research Article

Authors

Maia Chubinidze ¹

Toshko Ljubomirov ²

Maka Murvanidze ¹

George Japoshvili ³

¹ Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Department of Biology, Faculty of Exact and Natural Science, 1 Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue, 0179 Tbilisi, Georgia

² Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Science, 1, Tzar Osvoboditel Boulevard, Sofia, 1000, Bulgaria

³ Institute of Entomology, Agricultural University of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia

10.48311/jibs.12.04.759

Abstract

An intensive survey of wild bees (Hymenoptera; Apoidea, Apiformes) was conducted during the summer of 2022 in the vicinity of Tbilisi, Eastern Georgia. Sampling was carried out across a range of habitats representing different phytocenoses at elevations between 735 to 1,310 meters above sea level. A total of 57 species of wild bees belonging to 23 genera and six families were identified. Of these, 24 species are recorded from Georgia for the first time. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the diversity and distribution of the wild bees in the region, and provide valuable baseline data for future taxonomic, faunistic and conservation studies.

Graphical Abstract