Subgenus Formicapis
The subgenus Formicapis Sladen contains 4 species, 1 of which occurs both in the Palaearctic and the Nearctic region. 1 Palaearctic species is still undescribed (A. Müller, unpublished).
Open forests in the subalpine zone with a high amount of dead wood are the typical habitat of Hoplitis robusta (Nylander, 1848) in the Alps. Foto A. Müller.
Species accounts
Hoplitis (Formicapis) excisa (Morawitz, 1880)
1880 Osmia excisa Morawitz, Bulletin de l’Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg, 26: 385. Type material: f(f), “Ordoss (Chuan-che)” [China].-Combination Osmia (Stenosmia) excisa Morawitz in Mavromoustakis (1954b: 268). Combination Osmia (Osmia) excisa Morawitz in Wu (2006: 48).
Distribution-Northern Asia: RC.
Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Mavromoustakis (1954b: 267); Wu (2006).
Nesting biology: Unknown.
Flower preferences: Unknown.
Hoplitis (Formicapis) latifemoralis (Wu, 1985)
1985 Formicapis latifemoralis Wu, Biology of the Tianshan Tumur Region, p. 147 [not seen]. Type material: “Tianshan Tumur Region, Xingjiang” [China], IZCAS (Beijing).
Distribution-Northern Asia: KZ, RC(NW).
Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Wu (2006).
Nesting biology: Unknown.
Flower preferences: Unknown.
Hoplitis (Formicapis) maritima (Romankova, 1985)
1985 Formicapis robusta maritima Romankova, Vestnik Zoologii (Kiev), 6: 66. Type material: Syntypes m(m), f(f), “Primorski territory” [Russia].-Combination Formicapis maritima Romankova in Romankova (1994: 124). Combination Hoplitis (Formicapis) maritima (Romankova) in Tkalcu (1995: 121).
Distribution-Europe: UA. Northern Asia: MGL, RUS(FS).
Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Romankova (1995).
Nesting biology-Nesting site: Preexisting cavities: insect burrows in dead wood. Nesting material: Cell partitions made of chewed leaves. (Banaszak and Romasenko, 2001; Romankova, 1985a)
Flower preferences: Possibly oligolectic on Rosaceae (Fragaria, Potentilla) (Quest, 2009). Flower records: Inula britannica, Taraxacum (both Asteraceae), Fragaria orientalis, Potentilla fragarioides (both Rosaceae) (T. Romankova, personal communication).
Hoplitis (Formicapis) robusta (Nylander, 1848)
1848 Heriades robusta Nylander, Notiser ur Sällskapets pro Fauna et Flora Fennica Förhandlingar, vol. 1, p. 270. Type material: Lectotype f, by designation of Tkalcu (1995: 121), “Helsingfors” [Finland], FMNH (Helsinki); paralectotype m. Type species of Formicapis Sladen.-Combination Chelostoma robustum (Nylander) in Smith (1854: 220). Combination Osmia robusta (Nylander) in Schletterer (1889: 988). Combination Formicapis robusta (Nylander) in Romankova (1985a: 66).
1861 Osmia Rhinoceros Giraud, Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien, 11: 464. Type material: Syntypes ff, “Gastein” [Austria], Giraud Collection.-Combination Osmia (Acanthosmia) rhinoceros Giraud in Schmiedeknecht (1885: 21 [887]).-Synonymy in Schletterer (1889: 688).
1869 Heriades trinacria Morawitz, Horae Societatis Entomologicae Rossicae (St. Petersburg), 6: 41. Type material: m(m), “im Gdowschen Kreise” [Russia], ZIN (St. Petersburg).-Synonymy in Popov (1946: 107).
1916 Formicapis clypeata Sladen, The Canadian Entomologist, 48: 271. Type material: Syntypes m(m), f(f), “Aweme, Manitoba and Waterhole, Alberta” [Canada].-Synonymy in Peters (1970b: 194).
Distribution-Europe: A, CH, F, FIN, I, LV, RUS. Northern Asia: MGL, RC, RUS(FS). Extralimital: Nearctic (Canada, USA).
Identification-Keys, Descriptions: Amiet et al. (2004); Banaszak and Romasenko (2001); Benoist (1931); Ducke (1900); Friese (1911b); Medvedeva (1978); Romankova (1985a, 1995); Scheuchl (1996); Schmiedeknecht (1885-1886); Wu (2006).
Nesting biology-Nesting site: Preexisting cavities: insect burrows and drilled borings in dead wood. Nesting material: Nest plug made of masticated leaves, sometimes with small pieces of wood embedded in the leaf matrix. (Clement and Rust, 1975; Frey-Gessner, 1880)
Flower preferences: Polylectic (A. Müller, unpublished, based on 2 pollen samples from 2 different localities and on field observations). Additional flower records: Fabaceae (Trifolium or Astragalus) (Clement and Rust, 1975), Taraxacum (Hurd and Michener, 1955), Silene rupestris (Peters, 1970), Ranunculus (A. Müller, personal observation).