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A taxonomic catalogue of the Palaearctic bees of the tribe Osmiini (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae)
Abstract
This taxonomic catalogue covers all family-, genus- and species-group names of the Palaearctic bees of the tribe Osmiini as published by the end of 2006. As the taxonomy of the Palaearctic Osmiini is currently in a poor state, the primary goal of this catalogue is to provide a complete coverage of the widely dispersed and often not easily accessible taxonomic literature, thus laying the basis for further taxonomic work. We therefore refrain from proposing new synonyms, new names, new ranks or new combinations, and the taxa accepted here are based on a literature survey, generally adopting the most recent published opinion. The generic and subgeneric system proposed by Michener (2000) serves as a general backbone for this catalogue. We list six available family-group names, 93 available genus-group names and 935 available species-group names that currently split up into the valid names of two subtribes, 13 genera, 43 non-nominotypical subgenera, 604 species and 76 non-nominotypical subspecies. Starting with Linnaeus (1758), a total of 99 mainly European taxonomists contributed to the available species-group names by the end of 2006. Taxon accounts provide the reference to the original description, the name-bearing type(s), distribution, and literature sources for species identification. Apart from the extant taxa the catalogue also treats the extinct representatives of the osmiine bees following the tribal classification of Engel (2005).
... It is the largest genus of the osmiine bees (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae, Osmiini) with 389 species described so far (Müller 2023). The genus is especially diverse in the Palaearctic region, where 14 subgenera and 313 species occur (Praz et al. 2008;Ungricht et al. 2008;Sedivy et al. 2012;Müller 2023). The nesting biology of Hoplitis is extremely diverse and encompasses the whole diversity observed in the osmiine bees (Müller 2023). ...
... Alcidamea Cresson, 1864 is one of the largest subgenera of Hoplitis. It occurs in the Palaearctic and the Nearctic region; there are 81 described species, 64 of which occur in the Palaearctic (Michener 2007;Ungricht et al. 2008;Müller 2023). Most representatives of this subgenus nest above ground, mostly in self-excavated burrows in pithy stems or in pre-existing cavities. ...
Two nests of Hoplitis curvipes are described from Apulia (Italy) and Dagestan (Russia). Both nests consisted of two brood cells placed side by side under a stone. The cells were neither attached to each other nor to the substrate. They were constructed from leaf fragments, which were imbricately arranged, forming a cone-like structure; each leaf fragment consisted of a basal part that was masticated to leaf pulp and an api-cal part that protruded freely from the cell wall. The cell wall was formed by the fusion of the masticated basal parts of the leaf fragments and thus entirely consisted of leaf pulp. The cell was sealed with a closing plug made of pure leaf pulp; a few leaf fragments were glued to its outer surface. The cocoon consisted of two layers: the outer layer was restricted to the anterior portion of the cell and had several longitudinal air-exchange slits on its lateral surface, while the inner layer had an air-exchange orifice in its most anterior dome-shaped top. Results of measurements of brood cell dimensions and contents are provided. The nesting biology of species of the H. curvipes group is discussed.
... Specifically, we measured nest occupation rate, brood productivity and parasitism rate. The genus Osmia Panzer, 1806, has almost 360 species described to date and it is distributed in the Palaearctic and the Nearctic region, with only few species recorded from the Oriental and Neotropical region (Michener 2007;Ungricht et al. 2008;Ascher and Pickering 2020). Osmia bees are univoltine or, more rarely, semivoltine and include some of the earliest emerging bees in spring, with males starting to fly a bit earlier than females. ...
Wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) play an important role as pollinators of many crops and managed populations of Osmia spp. (Megachilidae), through the installation of trap-nests, proved to be efficient in several fruit orchards. In order to optimize the trap-nest protocols, it is necessary to understand which environmental factors play a major role in the reproductive success of these bees. Here, we studied how climate, land use and vegetation affect nest occupation rate (OR, i.e. total number of colonized tunnels/total number of tunnels in the trap-nest), brood productivity (BP, i.e. total number of brood cells built in a completed nest tunnel) and parasitism rate (PR, i.e. total number of parasitized brood cells/BP) in Osmia bees nearby almond orchards in South-East Spain, a largely understudied Mediterranean area. We found that the summer solar radiation positively influenced all three parameters, while spring solar radiation positively affected OR and BP, and negatively PR. Higher abundance of pastures and forests compared with crops increased OR, though not BP, and reduced PR. Vegetation evenness and diversity of dominant plant species also positively affected OR and BP, while they were unimportant for PR. OR was not affected by climate, but BP increased with maximum temperature in the warmest month and decreased with temperature annual range. PR also increased with high temperature, as well as with precipitation. Arid conditions limited OR and BP and boosted parasitism. Overall, it seems that Osmia bees nearby almond field in this area would benefit from trap-nest installation in well solar-radiated, hot and humid sites with a diverse vegetation. Since we have also found a negative association between PR and BP in nests with at least one parasitized cell, environmental conditions which improve productivity will also likely reduce parasitism in these bees. Implications for insect conservation: Optimization of trap-nesting protocols for maintaining abundant Osmia populations is crucial to an effective use of these bees as managed pollinators. In our study we suggest that trap-nests locations should be chosen also taking into account a number of local climatic and habitat factors, given their importance in affecting key traits of reproductive success in these solitary bees.
... It is distributed in the Palaearctic, the Nearctic, and the Afrotropical region; a few species also occur in the Oriental region (Michener 2007). The genus Hoplitis is especially diverse in the Palaearctic region, where 14 subgenera and 311 species occur (Praz et al. 2008;Ungricht et al. 2008;Sedivy et al. 2012a;Müller 2023). The largest subgenus of the genus Hoplitis is Hoplitis s. str., which is confined to the Palaearctic region. ...
Hoplitis astragali sp. nov., a member of the H. monstrabilis species group, and H. dagestanica sp. nov., a member of the H. adunca species group, are described. The former species is known from Dagestan in Russia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan, the latter only from Dagestan. Nests of H. astragali are described. Females of this species excavated burrows in a vertical clay cliff, but sometimes chose a horizontal surface for nest excavation, particularly at the entrance of old burrows of Xylocopa olivieri (Apidae). The nest burrows of H. astragali were either sub-vertical or sub-horizontal. The nests were composed of one to three brood cells, an empty vestibule in front of the outermost cell, and a closing plug at the nest entrance made of moistened mud. The inner surface of the cells was covered with a thin wall composed of compact soil, most probably built by the female bee after cell excavation. The pollen loaf was very liquid and had a spherical shape. The egg was deposited on its top. The cocoon consisted of a single thin layer, which uniformly covered the whole inner surface of the cell. There was one generation per year. The prepupae hibernated. Sapyga caucasica (Sapygidae) was recorded in the nests as a kleptoparasite. Both females and males of H. astragali exclusively visited flowers of two species of the genus Astragalus (Fabaceae).
... Note. Osmia soror was treated as the North African subspecies of O. rufohirta Latreille, 1811by Zanden (1988b, Ungricht et al. (2008) and Scheuchl & Willner (2016). However, as O. soror differs from O. rufohirta by several morphological characters including the male genitalia (see identification key) and as its distribution appears to overlap with that of O. rufohirta in northern Morocco as suggested by a single record of a typical male of O. rufohirta from the Middle Atlas (Michlifene, 1900 m a.s.l.), it is considered here to represent a species of its own. ...
Osmia (Allosmia) and O. (Neosmia) are two closely related Palaearctic osmiine bee subgenera (Megachilidae, Megachilinae, Osmiini) comprising eleven and ten species, respectively. Analysis of female pollen loads revealed that the representatives of O. (Allosmia) and O. (Neosmia) are pollen generalists collecting pollen on up to 13 and 17 plant families, respectively. The species of both subgenera exclusively nest in empty snail shells and use chewed leaves as main nest building material, often in combination with fragments of mollusc shells and densely packed small particles, such as small stones, earth crumbs or plant fibers, which are used to barricade the nests. The taxonomic revision of the two subgenera revealed the existence of two undescribed species, O. (Allosmia) gemina spec. nov. from the southern Levant and O. (Neosmia) nigrocalcaribus spec. nov. from the Maghreb. Osmia fossoria Pérez, 1890 syn. nov. and O. decorata Morawitz, 1886 syn. nov. are newly synonymized with O. (Allosmia) lhotelleriei Pérez, 1887 and O. (Allosmia) melanura Morawitz, 1871, respectively, whereas the former synonymization of O. (Neosmia) rosea Friese, 1920 with O. scutispina Gribodo, 1894 is rejected. Osmia (Neosmia) purpurata Ducke, 1899 is regarded as a nomen dubium. Osmia (Allosmia) soror Pérez, 1896 and O. (Neosmia) secunda Peters, 1977 are treated as species rather than as subspecies of O. rufohirta Latreille, 1811 and O. tingitana Benoist, 1969, respectively, due to clear morphological gaps and partly sympatric occurrence. Identification keys for all species of the two subgenera are given.
Corsica stands as one of the largest Mediterranean Islands and has been the exploration ground for renowned entomologists like Charles Ferton. However, no synthesis on Corsican bees has been published so far. To fill this gap in knowledge, we propose an overview of the megachilid bee fauna of the island based on fieldwork, a thorough examination of material housed at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN, Paris), data compilation from various collections and a comprehensive review of existing literature. We reviewed 5,886 specimens and we extracted 279 additional data from literature sources. These data confirm the presence in Corsica of 91 species of which two are endemic, including Hoplitis corsaria (Warncke, 1991) which is elevated to species rank stat. nov. One new synonymy is established: Megachile lucidifrons Ferton, syn. nov. of Megachile albocristata Smith, 1853. The presence in Corsica of 19 species is regarded as dubious or erroneous. Finally, the types of Megachilid bees housed at MNHN and described based on Corsican material are illustrated. Lectotypes are designated for Megachile sicula var. corsica Benoist, 1935, Osmia corsica Ferton, 1901, Osmia erythrogastra Ferton, 1905, Osmia lanosa Pérez, 1879, and Osmia lineola Pérez, 1895.
The paper summarizes all updates relevant to the megachilid-bee fauna of the Crimea published after the previous catalogue (Fateryga et al., 2018), as well as reported as original data. Hoplitis mollis Tkalců, 2000, Osmia cyanoxantha Pérez, 1879, and O. hellados van der Zanden, 1984 are recorded from the Crimea for the first time while H. turcestanica (Dalla Torre, 1896), O. gallarum Spinola, 1808, and O. versicolor Latreille, 1811 are excluded from the Crimean list of species. Other taxonomic changes and clarifications are also reported for some species. A new checklist of the Crimean megachilid bees contains 121 species from 16 genera and five tribes.
The present study is an update to the first catalogue of Russian bees published in 2017. For the Russian fauna, five recently described species are reported, as well as 45 species newly recorded since the first catalogue (including one invasive species), nine species overlooked in this previous Russian checklist, and 17 published synonymies. Original records are provided for nine species previously unknown to Russia and, as a taxonomic act, one species, Anthidium ovasi Warncke, 1980, syn. nov., is synonymised with Icteranthidium floripetum (Eversmann, 1852). Additionally, 14 species are excluded from the original catalogue and numerous other taxonomic changes and clarifications are included. The present work revises the total number of genera for Russia to 64 and the total number of species to 1,268.
An updated checklist of the Megachilid bees of Iraq is presented in this paper. The current list includes 31 species belonging to 10 genera, under the tribes Lithurgini, Osmiini, Anthidiini, and Megachilini within the Megachilinae subfamily. The basionyms, synonyms, and distribution of species in the world are also given. Based on the specimens, which obtained during this study, a diagnostic key was designed to identify the tribes and genera; the genus Heriades Spinola, 1808 (Tribe, Osmiini) is recorded for the first time in the Iraqi entomofauna.
At a time when nature conservation has become essential to ensure the long-term sustainability of our environment, it is widely acknowledged that conservation actions must be implemented within a solid taxonomic framework. In preparation for the upcoming update of the IUCN Red List, we here update the European checklist of the wild bees (sensu the IUCN geographical framework). The original checklist, published in 2014, was revised for the first time in 2017. In the present revision, we add one genus, four subgenera and 67 species recently described, 40 species newly recorded since the latest revision (including two species that are not native to Europe), 26 species overlooked in the previous European checklists and 63 published synonymies. We provide original records for eight species previously unknown to the continent and, as original taxonomic acts, we provide three new synonyms, we consider two names as nomina nuda, ten names as nomina dubia, three as species inquirenda, synonymize three species and exclude 40 species from the previous checklist. Around a hundred other taxonomic changes and clarifications are also included and discussed. The present work revises the total number of genera for IUCN Europe to 77 and the total number of species to 2,138. In addition to specifying the taxonomic changes necessary to update the forthcoming Red List of European bees, we discuss the sampling and taxonomic biases that characterise research on the European bee fauna and highlight the growing importance of range expansions and species invasions.
The megachilid bees of the genus Chelostoma Latreille, 1809 in Montana, U.S.A., are reviewed. Two Palearctic species, Chelostoma (Foveosmia) campanularum (Kirby, 1802) and Chelostoma (Gyrodromella) rapunculi (Lepeletier, 1841), are reported for the first time from Montana. The Montana specimens represent a range expansion from southeastern Michigan for C. campanularum and from northeastern Illinois for C. rapunculi. These collections appear to represent an established local population for C. campanularum with specimens from multiple dates, years, and locations in Bozeman, Montana; specimens of C. rapunculi have only been found in one location and year. The habitat, distribution, and potential ecological impacts of establishment of these two non-native species in Montana are discussed. An identification key to the Chelostoma of Montana is provided.
Check-list of Hymenoptera in Italy. IV. Apoidea: Colletidae. Andrenidae, Megachilidae, Anthophoridae and Apidae. A list of the species of Italian apoidea has been made. Data from bibliography and from numerous Italian collections have been deduced. An index in alphabetical order of species, subspecies and synonymies follows. 43 taxa are new for Italy