Taxonomic Study of Bee Family Halictidae (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in Gorgan County

Bees are the major pollinators of angiosperms (flowering plants) in most ecosystems. Halictidae is second most diverse bee family in the world that pollinates rangeland plants, field crops, fodder and some horticultural plants. Regarding the importance of bees on pollination of flowering plants, collecting of the bees was conducted in Gorgan County (Golestan province, Iran) during flowering seasons in 2014-2015. Because of daylight activity, all bees were collected by sweep nets while they were searching for nectar and pollen. The halictid bee specimens were killed in glass or propylene jars containing chopped cork and ethyl acetate and then pinned. In the present study, descriptions of 21 halictid bee species belong to three subfamilies Rophitinae, Nomiinae, Halictinae, four genera Rophites, Pseudapis, Halictus, Lasioglossum and nine subgenera Rophitiodes, Nomiapis, Halictus, Hexataenites, Vestitohalictus, Seladonia, Lasioglossum, Evylaeus and Dialictus with photos of the most important characters of each species are provided for first time in Iran.