Nomia flavipes Smith, 1858

Wood, T. J., Risch, S., Orr, M. C. & Hogan, J. E., 2025, An illustrated type catalogue of the bee species collected by Alfred Russel Wallace and described by Frederick Smith from Southeast Asia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), European Journal of Taxonomy 1028, pp. 1-144 : 50-51

29. Nomia flavipes Smith, 1858

Fig. 30

Nomia flavipes Smith, 1858a: 5 , ♀.

Type material examined

Holotype

INDONESIA • ♀; Mak. [ Makassar , Sulawesi]; [ 2 Sep.–18 Dec. 1856]; OUMNH, ENT-HYME2788 .

Type locality

Celebes [= Sulawesi].

Notes

Baker (1993: 200) wrote the following:

“A ♀ labelled ‘Mak.’ [blue disc] and ‘ Nomia flavipes Smith’ [blue rectangular label] standing as flavipes in the UMO type collection is the HOLOTYPE of this species and it has now been labelled accordingly. The type is much broken and has been crudely ‘repaired’; some detached leg segments adhere to the data label”.

The specimen was not labelled as holotype; this has now been rectified. Baker treated the name L. flavipes as senior to L. deliense ( Strand, 1910) , which was described from Sumatra as Halictus deliensis ( Strand 1910: 188) . The nomenclatural status of flavipes is complex. The specimen itself belongs to the genus Lasioglossum ( Ctenonomia) , and as such would nominally have precedence over the currently used name L. deliense . However, Cockerell (1922: 662) considered flavipes Smith to be in the genus Halictus Latreille, 1804 and hence a junior secondary homonym of Halictus flavipes (Fabricius, 1787) . The replacement name Halictus latebralis Cockerell, 1922 was proposed. Blüthgen (1926: 537–538) listed both Halictus flavipes (Smith) and Halictus latebralis Cockerell under Halictus deliense Strand. Blüthgen (1926) also dated the publication year of Halictus deliense as “1909 (1910)”, whereas Baker (1993) dated it as 1910.

Under ICZN (1999) Article 59.3, even though flavipes Smith is not currently considered to be part of the genus Halictus , a junior secondary homonym replaced before 1961 is permanently invalid unless the substitute name is not in use and the relevant taxa are no longer considered congeneric. As L. deliense is in use (e.g., Blüthgen 1926; Ascher et al. 2022), it should be maintained as the valid name.

Current status

Lasioglossum ( Ctenonomia) deliense ( Strand, 1910) ( Blüthgen 1926; Ascher & Pickering 2024; J. Gardner pers. com.).

Distribution

India ( Sikkim), Malaysia (Peninsula), Singapore, Indonesia ( Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi), Philippines ( Blüthgen 1926; Ascher et al. 2022; Ascher & Pickering 2024).