Teodora Teofilova, Toshko Ljubomirov
Hymenoptera (Insecta) in rural montane habitats – a case study from the Western Rhodope Mountains (Bulgaria) with taxonomic notes on Bethylidae
Abstract This study explores the Hymenoptera diversity from an uncultivated house yard in the mountain hamlet of Grashtitsa at an altitude of 1340 m in the Western Rhodope Mountains in southern Bulgaria. Additionally, data from the vicinity of the village of Patalenitsa (at the foot of the mountain) are also presented. A total of 5189 specimens from 74 species and 22 families were collected, and of them, 4695 individuals and 50 species were ants (Formicidae). In Grashtitsa hamlet, between September 2016 and April 2021, we collected 4326 ants from 36 species and 474 individuals from the other 21 Hymenoptera families, with only six pitfall traps. From the surroundings of the Patalenitsa village, between May and September 2016, we collected 369 ant individuals belonging to 26 species and 20 more individuals from 12 species of other seven hymenopteran families, with 16 pitfall traps. Some species of conservational or scientific interest were collected. Here, we give the first record of Bethylus cephalotes in Bulgaria and in the Balkan Peninsula, as for the first time, setae have been found on the facets of the compound eyes of this species. Interestingly, several species were established to expand their range – Embolemus ruddii, Lasioglossum anellum, Priocnemis confusor, P. hankoi, and P. hyalinata are here reported for the first time for the Western Rhodopes.
Doi https://doi.org/10.35513/21658005.2026.1.10 Keywords Ants; bees; wasps; Bethylus cephalotes; montane rural fauna; new records; Western Rhodopes
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