title: A new species of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Thyreus from northern Yemen and southwestern Saudi Arabia (Hymenoptera, Apidae).
abstract: A new species of cleptoparasitic bee of the genus Thyreus Panzer (Apinae: Melectini) is described and figured from northern Yemen and southwestern Saudi Arabia. Thyreus shebicus Engel, sp. n. is a relatively small species superficially similar to the widespread and polytypic species T. ramosus (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau) and T. ramosellus (Cockerell) but more closely allied to various African forms on the basis of the male genitalia. The species is distinguished from its congeners on the basis of coloration pattern, male hind leg structure, and particularly male terminalia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulaziz S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Alqarni
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ; Current address: 60-125 Cole Road, Guelph, Ontario N1G 4S8, Canada.
authors.forename: Mohammed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hannan
authors.affiliation: Division of Entomology, Natural History Museum, and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 1501 Crestline Drive - Suite 140, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Engel
keywords: Anthophila; Apoidea; Arabian Peninsula; Melectini; cleptoparasitism; taxonomy