Flavomeliturgula Koreshomelissa Engel, 2019

Engel, Michael S., Alqarni, Abdulaziz S., Shebl, Mohamed A. & Thomas, Jennifer C., 2019, New genera of meliturguline bees from Saudi Arabia and Persia, with notes on related genera and a key to the Arabian fauna (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 69, pp. 1-21 : 1

Flavomeliturgula Koreshomelissa Engel subgen. n.

Type species.

Meliturgula tapana Warncke, 1983 [1985].

Diagnosis.

The subgenus can be distinguished by the combination of: mesoscutum dark brown to black with yellow markings, surface with scattered, minute, fine setae, and less than 0.5 × median ocellar diameter; basal area of propodeum with setae; and hind wing with 6-7 distal hamuli along anterior wing margin.

Etymology.

The new subgeneric name is a combination of Kóréš or Kūruš, the Hebrew and Persian names for Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II, ca. 600-530 B.C.), who first unified the ancient kingdoms of the Near East and founded the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, combined with the Greek, mélissa (μέλισσα), meaning, “bee”. The gender of the name is feminine.

Included species.

The subgenus includes two species: F. (Koreshomelissa) tapana and F. (K.) centaurea (Warncke), both from northern (along the Caspian Sea) and southern costal Iran ( Māzandarān and Hormozgān) and southern Pakistan (Balochistan).