Over a century ago in his memoir on Gorytes, Lepeletier proposed Lestiphorus for the reception of Rossi's distinctive European species Crabro bicinctus. However, very few subsequent authors have recognized it as a discrete generic entity. It has generally been regarded as merely a species group or occasionally treated as a subgenus of Gorytes or some related genus. But Lestiphorus, although small, is indubitably entitled to full generic rank.