Palaearctic Osmiine Bees

The subgenus Chelostoma Latreille is confined to the Palaearctic region. It contains 12 described species. At least 6 Palaearctic species are still undescribed (A. Müller, unpublished).

Female of Chelostoma (Chelostoma) florisomne (Linnaeus, 1758) on a flower of Ranunculus (Ranunculaceae), its exclusive pollen host. Foto A. Krebs.

Species accounts

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) carinocaudatum Wu, 2004

2004 Chelostoma (Chelostoma) carinocaudata Wu, Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, 29: 534. Type material: Holotype f, “Yunnan, Zhongdian Tuyingcun (27.7°N, 99.7°E), 2700 m” [China], IZCAS (Beijing).

Distribution-Northern Asia: RC(SW).

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Wu (2006). Note: Male unknown.

Nesting biology: Unknown.

Flower preferences: Unknown.

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) xizangense Wu, 1982

1982 Chelostoma xizangensis Wu, Insects of Xizang, vol. 2, p. 406, p. 424. Type material: Holotype f, “Xizang: Mangkam” [China], IZCAS (Beijing).

Distribution-Northern Asia: RC(WP).

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Wu (2006). Note: Male unknown.

Nesting biology: Unknown.

Flower preferences: Unknown.

diodon group

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) diodon Schletterer, 1889

1889 Chelostoma diodon Schletterer, Zoologisches Jahrbuch für Systematik, 4: 627. Type material: Lectotype f, by designation of A. Müller (unpublished), “Amasia” [Turkey], NMW (Wien); paralectotype m.-Combination Heriades diodon (Schletterer) in Dalla Torre (1896: 376).

Distribution-Europe: GR. Southwestern Asia: CY, IL, JOR, SYR, TR.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Friese (1898).

Nesting biology-Nesting site: Old dried wood (Mavromoustakis, 1951).

Flower preferences: Oligolectic on Asteraceae with a clear preference for Asteroideae (based on Sedivy et al. (2008) and on 2 additional pollen samples from 2 different localities (A. Müller, unpublished)).

- subspecies cypriacum (Mavromoustakis, 1951)

1951 Eriades diodon cypriaca Mavromoustakis, The Annals and Magazine of Natural History (London), ser. 12, 4: 350. Type material: Holotype f, “Yerasa” [Cyprus], DAAN (Nicosia); paratypes mm, ff.

Distribution-Southwestern Asia: CY.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: No supplementary or more detailed morphological description known.

- subspecies diodon Schletterer, 1889

1889 Automatically established nominotypical subspecific taxon (original description and type specimen are identical with those of the species rank taxon of the same name above).

Distribution- Europe: GR. Southwestern Asia: IL, JOR, SYR, TR.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: No supplementary or more detailed morphological description known.

florisomne group

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) carinulum Pérez, 1895

1895 Chelostoma carinula Pérez, Espèces nouvelles de mellifères de Barbarie, p. 19. Type material: Syntypes m(m), f(f) [Algeria], MNHN (Paris).-Combination Heriades carinulus (Pérez) in Friese (1911b: 19).

Distribution-Northern Africa: DZ, MA, TN.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Friese (1898).

Nesting biology: Unknown.

Flower preferences: Oligolectic on Ranunculus (Ranunculaceae) and possibly also on closely related genera (based on Sedivy et al., 2008, and on 2 additional pollen samples from the same locality (A. Müller, unpublished)).

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) edentulum Pérez, 1895

1895 Chelostoma edentulum Pérez, Espèces nouvelles de mellifères de Barbarie, p. 20. Type material: Lectotype f, by designation of G. van der Zanden (A. Müller, unpublished), “Alger” [Algeria], MNHN (Paris).-Combination Heriades edentulus (Pérez) in Friese (1911b: 22).

Distribution- Europe: E, P. Northern Africa: DZ, MA, TN.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: No supplementary or more detailed morphological description known.

Nesting biology: Unknown.

Flower preferences: Oligolectic on Brassicaceae (based on Sedivy et al., 2008, and on 3 additional pollen samples from 2 different localities (A. Müller, unpublished)).

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) emarginatum (Nylander, 1856)

1856 Heriades emarginata Nylander, Memoires de la Société des Sciences Naturelles de Cherbourg, 4: 109. Type material: Syntypes m(m), f(f), “Gallia meridionali” [France], MNHN (Paris).

1871 Heriades appendiculata Morawitz, Horae Societatis Entomologicae Rossicae (St. Petersburg), 8: 209. Type material: m(m), “Calabria” [Italy], ZIN (St. Petersburg).-Synonymy in Warncke (1986: 73).

1872 Heriades angustata Chevrier, Mittheilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 3: 505. Type material: Syntypes ff, “Environs de Nyon” [Switzerland], MHNG (Genève) or NHMB (Basel).-Combination Chelostoma angustatum (Chevrier) in Schletterer (1889: 629).-Synonymy in Frey-Gessner (1905: 103).

1872 Heriades intermedia Chevrier, Mittheilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 3: 506. Type material: Holotype f, “Environs de Nyon” [Switzerland], MHNG (Genève) or NHMB (Basel).-Synonymy with Chelostoma foveolatum (Morawitz) in Schletterer (1889: 636), rejected by Frey-Gessner (1905: 103). Synonymy with Chelostoma emarginatum (Nylander) in Frey-Gessner (1905: 103).

1879 Chelostoma quadrifidum Kriechbaumer, Entomologische Nachrichten (Berlin), 5: 312. Type material: Holotype m, “um Bozen” [Italy].-Synonymy with Heriades appendiculatus Morawitz in Dalla Torre (1896: 374).-Synonymy with Chelostoma emarginatum (Nylander) in Schwarz et al. (1996: 116).

1890 Chelostoma incertum Pérez, Actes de la Société Linnéenne de Bordeaux, 44: 189. Type material: Lectotype m, by designation of G. van der Zanden (A. Müller, unpublished), “Bogan” [France], MNHN (Paris); paralectotype f.-Combination Heriades incertus (Pérez) in Dalla Torre (1896: 378).-Synonymy in Benoist (1928d: 108).

1935 Heriades ursina Benoist, Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France, 40: 280.Type material: Lectotype m, by designation of G. van der Zanden (A. Müller, unpublished), “Transcaucasie: Lenkoran” [Azerbaijan], MNHN (Paris).-Synonymy in Schwarz et al. (1996: 116).

Distribution-Europe: A, AZ, BG, BIH, CH, CZ, E, F, GR, H, HR, I, I(Si), MK, P, RO, SCG, SK, SLO. Southwestern Asia: IR, TR.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Amiet et al. (2004); Benoist (1929a); Friese (1898); Scheuchl (1996); Schletterer (1889).

Nesting biology: Unknown.

Flower preferences: Oligolectic on Ranunculus (Ranunculaceae) and possibly also on closely related genera (Amiet et al., 2004; Sedivy et al., 2008).

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) florisomne (Linnaeus, 1758)

1758 Apis florisomnis Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, 10th edn, vol. 1, p. 577. Type material: Lectotype m, by designation of Day (1979: 62), “in Europa” [Sweden], LSUK (London). Type species of Chelostoma Latreille.-Combination Heriades florisomnis (Linnaeus) in Dalla Torre (1896: 376).

1767 Apis maxillosa Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, 12th edn, vol. 1, p. 954. Type material: Holotype f, “in Europa” [Sweden], LSUK (London).-Combination Chelostoma maxillosa (Linnaeus) in Latreille (1809: 162).-Synonymy in Kirby (1802: 252).

1841 Chelostoma culmorum Lepeletier, Histoire Naturelle des Insectes, Hyménoptères, vol. 2, p. 408 [not seen]. Type material: Syntypes m(m), f(f).-Combination Heriades florisomnis culmorum (Lepeletier) in Dalla Torre (1896: 377).-Synonymy in Schwarz et al. (1996: 116).

1932 Heriades parumcrinitus Alfken, Konowia, 11: 113. Type material: Holotype, f, “Ebelsbach am Main” [Germany], ZMHB (Berlin); paratypes mm, ff.-Synonymy with Heriades maxillosus (Linnaeus) in Benoist (1945: 28).

Distribution-Europe: A, AL, AND, ARM, B, BG, BIH, CH, CZ, D, DK, E, EST, F, FIN, FL, GB, GE, GR, H, HR, I, L, LT, LV, NL, P, PL, RO, RUS, S, SK, SLO, UA. Southwestern Asia: TR.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Amiet et al. (2004); Banaszak and Romasenko (2001); Benoist (1929a); Friese (1898); Medvedeva (1978); Scheuchl (1996); Schletterer (1889). Misapplication: In many older publications Chelostoma florisomne auct. [not (Linnaeus, 1758)] is Chelostoma campanularum (Kirby).

Nesting biology-Nesting site: Preexisting cavities: insect burrows and drilled borings in dead wood; hollow stems (e.g. Phragmites, Triticum) and drilled borings in stems; clay walls; glass tubes. Nesting material: Cell partitions and nest plug made of mud. Small pebbles, sand grains, small snail shells and other particles are embedded in the outer plug surface. Nectar is added to the mud for the construction of partitions and plug. (Banaszak and Romasenko, 1998; Bonelli, 1967b, 1968; Brechtel, 1986; Ferton, 1895; Friese, 1923; Grandi, 1961; Grünwaldt, 1939; Käpylä, 1978; Maréchal, 1933; Ruszkowski et al., 1995; Stoeckhert, 1933; Van Lith, 1957; Westrich, 1989; G. Else, unpublished manuscript)

Flower preferences: Oligolectic on Ranunculus (Ranunculaceae) and possibly also on closely related genera (Amiet et al., 2004; Sedivy et al., 2008; Westrich, 1989).

grande group

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) grande (Nylander, 1852)

1852 Heriades grandis Nylander, Notiser ur Sällskapets pro Fauna et Flora Fennica Förhandlingar, vol. 2, p. 277. Type material: f(f), “Helvetia” [Switzerland].

Distribution-Europe: A, CH, F, FL, GR, H, I, RO, RUS?, SCG?, SLO.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Amiet et al. (2004); Banaszak and Romasenko (2001); Benoist (1929a); Friese (1898); Medvedeva (1978); Scheuchl (1996); Schletterer (1889).

Nesting biology-Nesting site: Preexisting cavities: insect burrows in dead wood; hollow stems. Nesting material: Cell partitions and nest plug made of mud mixed with small pebbles. (Frey-Gessner, 1880; Friese, 1923; Westrich, 2002; A. Müller, personal observation)

Flower preferences: Oligolectic on Dipsacaceae (Amiet et al., 2004; Sedivy et al., 2008; Westrich, 1993).

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) lucens (Benoist, 1928)

1928 Heriades lucens Benoist, Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 97: 418. Type material: Lectotype f, by designation of G. van der Zanden (A. Müller, unpublished), “Asie mineure: Taurus” [Turkey], MNHN (Paris).

Distribution- Europe: BG, GR(Rhodos, Samos). Southwestern Asia: CY?, IL?, JOR, RL?, TR.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: No supplementary or more detailed morphological description known. Misapplication: Chelostoma “lucens” in Mavromoustakis (1951: 353-354) is a still undescribed species (“species 2″ in Sedivy et al., 2008).

Nesting biology: Unknown.

Flower preferences: Ebmer (2009) observed this species exclusively on flowers of Legousia pentagonia (Campanulaceae) on Samos, Greece. If this species should turn out to be indeed oligolectic on Legousia or on other genera of the Campanulaceae, it is the only member of the subgenus Chelostoma known so far to exploit Campanulaceae for pollen. However, the single pollen sample available so far (from Samos) consists of pollen of Dipsacaceae, which is in line with field observations on Rhodos, where males of C. lucens were observed to patrol the flower heads of Dipsacaceae (A. Müller, unpublished). Thus, C. lucens is probably oligolectic on Dipsacaceae as are its closest relatives.

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) transversum (Friese, 1897)

1897 Eriades transversus Friese, Entomologische Nachrichten (Berlin), 23: 193. Type material: Lectotype m, by designation of G. van der Zanden (A. Müller, unpublished), “Graecia” [Greece], ZMHB (Berlin).

Distribution-Europe: BG, GR. Southwestern Asia: TR?.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Friese (1898).

Nesting biology: Unknown.

Flower preferences: Oligolectic on Dipsacaceae (Sedivy et al., 2008; Ebmer, 2009). Flower records: Knautia integrifolia, Scabiosa argentea (Ebmer, 2009).

mocsaryi group

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) dolosum (Benoist, 1935)

1935 Heriades dolosa Benoist, Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France, 40: 279. Type material:Lectotype f, by designation by Zanden (A. Müller, unpublished), “Asie mineure: Brousse” [Turkey], MNHN (Paris).

Distribution-Southwestern Asia: TR.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: No supplementary or more detailed morphological description known. Note: Male unknown.

Nesting biology: Unknown.

Flower preferences: Unknown.

Chelostoma (Chelostoma) mocsaryi Schletterer, 1889

1889 Chelostoma mocsaryi Schletterer, Zoologisches Jahrbuch für Systematik, 4: 622. Type material: Syntypes mm, “Dalmatien (Spalato), Süd-Russland (Krim), Kleinasien (Amasia, Aphrodisias), [Croatia, Ukraine, Turkey], NMW (Wien) and HNHM (Budapest).-Combination Heriades mocsaryi (Schletterer) in Dalla Torre and Friese (1895: 69).

Distribution-Europe: BG, F, GR, HR, I, I(Si), RUS(SR), SCG, SLO, UA; Caucasus. Southwestern Asia: IL, RL, TR.

Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Banaszak and Romasenko (2001); Benoist (1928e: 120, 1929a); Friese (1898); Medvedeva (1978).

Nesting biology-Nesting site: Preexisting cavities: insect burrows in dead wood, hollow stems (Banaszak and Romasenko, 1998; A. Gogala, personal communication).

Flower preferences: Oligolectic on Ornithogalum (Hyacinthaceae) (Gogala, 1999; Sedivy et al., 2008).