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ABSTRACT
An annotated checklist of wasps in the families Crabronidae and Sphecidae is compiled for British Columbia, resulting in a total of 280 species, 70 of which are new to the province. In addition, 42 of the species reported here are new records for Canada, two species may be potentially new to science, and the European species Ectemnius cephalotes (Olivier) is recorded for the first time from western Canada. This study was done primarily through examination of museum holdings and a thorough review of existing literature. All available resources necessary for the identification of British Columbian taxa are cited. Intraprovincial distributions by ecoprovinces are presented for each species.
Key Words: Crabronidae, Sphecidae, Checklist, British Columbia
INTRODUCTION
The four currently recognized (i.e., Pulawski 2015) hymenopteran families of sphecoid wasps, Heterogynaidae, Ampulicidae, Sphecidae and Crabronidae, have, at different points in the past century, been treated as one family (e.g., Bohart and Menke 1976), as well as several families (Finnamore in Goulet and Huber 1993). Collectively, these families form the group known as the "spheciform", "sphecoid", or "apoid" wasps (Apoidea, Spheciformes); the historic Sphecoidea. Three of these families are found in North America, including parts of Canada, and two, Crabronidae and Sphecidae, occur in British Columbia.
The spheciform wasps have, historically, been poorly studied in British Columbia. In 1948, Spencer and Wellington published "A preliminary list of the Sphecinae of British Columbia", the only provincial list of spheciform wasp species ever assembled. However, other provincial studies of insect fauna have included localized lists of spheciform wasps, but have almost exclusively been limited to the south Okanagan region of the province (Blades and Maier 1992; Scudder 1994). Buck's 2004 checklist of Ontario spheciform wasps contains presence-absence data for some species in British Columbia, including multiple new records for the province. That said, there have been several notable contributions to the study of these wasps that have relevance to British Columbia. Valid name-bearing type specimens have been designated from British Columbia for ten species, consisting of six holotypes, two sets of syntypes, and two lectotypes. Paratypes for three valid species have also been designated from British Columbia. In addition, three holotypes and one set of syntypes for species that have since been synonymized are designated from British Columbia....