Vesnić et al. (2023) report three new country records for Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. Hoplitis (Alcidamea) claviventris, Osmia (Helicosmia) latreillei and Osmia (Helicosmia) leaiana.
Author: muelandr
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Hoplitis camelina (Benoist, 1934)
Hoplitis camelina was described by Benoist (1934) based on a female collected near Ain Leuh in Morocco. This female differs from European females of H. acuticornis (Dufour & Perris, 1840) by its yellowish-red rather than (yellowish-)white pilosity of head, mesosoma and metasoma and by the reddish rather than blackish marginal zones of the terga. Recently, T. Wood collected a series of females and males of H. camelina at the same locality and date near Guercif in southern Morocco, which show a strong variability in the colour of the body pilosity and the tergal marginal zones. Some specimens have a (yellowish-)white body pilosity and dark marginal tergal zones as in European specimens of H. acuticornis, whereas others have a yellowish-red body pilosity and lightened tergal marginal zones as in H. camelina and still others a (yellowish-)white body pilosity and lightened marginal tergal zones. As no structural differences between North African specimens of H. camelina and European specimens of H. acuticornis were found in either sex, the status of H. camelina as a species of its own does not seem to be justified. Therefore, H. camelina is newly regarded as conspecific with H. acuticornis. Pending a future revision of the H. acuticornis group, H. camelina is tentatively treated as a subspecies of H. acuticornis as proposed by Warncke (1991h).
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Hoplitis taurica (Radoszkowski, 1874)
Pseudosmia taurica was described by Radoszkowski (1874) based on female and male specimens collected near Salguir on the Crimean peninsula. Radoszkowski placed this species in a newly established genus Pseudosmia, to which he added – according to the current classification – eight further species belonging to Hoplitis (Anthocopa), Osmia (Erythrogastra), Osmia (Helicosmia), Osmia (Hoplosmia) and Osmia (Metallinella). Radoszkowski’s description is far from being sufficient to narrow down the identity of P. taurica. Due to the laterally toothed male tergum 6, P. taurica is probably a member of the genus Hoplitis, which is supported by the author’s remark that the new species is morphologically close to H (Anthocopa) bisulca (Gerstaecker). The types of P. taurica were neither found in Krakow, where a large part of the bee collection of Radoszkowski is housed, nor in Moscow or St. Petersburg (L. Przybyłowicz, A. Fateryga and M. Proshchalykin, personal communication), which suggests that they are lost. Due to the insufficient species description and the unavailability of the types, P. taurica Radoszkowski, 1874 is therefore newly regarded as a nomen dubium.
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New Hoplitis (Stenosmia) species
In a recent article in the Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine (159, 79-86, 2023), I. Cross described Hoplitis halophila, a new species of the subgenus Stenosmia from southern Iberia. See species account for details.
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New species records 20
Osmiine bee material provided by A. Fateryga revealed the following new country records:
Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic): Heriades (Heriades) rubicola, Hoplitis (Hoplitis) parasitica, Hoplitis (Hoplitis) strymonia, Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) rufopicta, Osmia (Pyrosmia) amathusica, Osmia (Pyrosmia) dilaticornis, Osmia (Pyrosmia) viridana, Protosmia (Protosmia) glutinosa
Russia (southern European Russia): Osmia (Pyrosmia) hellados, Osmia (Pyrosmia) saxicola
Russia (western Siberia): Hoplitis (Kumobia) abbreviata
Ukraine (Crimea): Osmia (Pyrosmia) cyanoxantha
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New species records 19
In a large sample of osmiine bees from Morocco collected by Thomas Wood in 2022, three new species for the country were found: Chelostoma (Foveosmia) campanularum, Hoplitis (Anthocopa) peniculifera and Osmia (Pyrosmia) lobata.
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New species records 18
Hoplitis peniculifera: The new record for Tunisia is also the first record for Africa
Osmia xanthomelana: Villu Soon recorded this species for the first time for Estonia
Chelostoma mocsaryi: Romania
Hoplitis mocsaryi: Romania
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Hoplitis corcyraea elevated to species rank
Tkalku (1979) described Hoplitis corcyraea as subspecies of H. yermasoyiae (Mavromoustakis 1938) mainly differing from the latter by the yellowish-red rather than whitish metasomal scopa. The investigation of a series of H. corcyraea from mainland Greece revealed additional morphological differences, e.g. in the length of the mouthparts, in the formation of the tergal hair bands and in the punctation of the tergal discs. Thus, H. corcyraea is elevated here to species rank.
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Newly described Palaearctic osmiine bee species
Two articles in Zootaxa have been recently published, one dealing with the biology and taxonomy of Osmia bees of the subgenera Allosmia and Neosmia (Zootaxa, 5188, 201-232, 2022) and the other with the description of new Moroccan osmiine bee species (Zootaxa, 5188, 233-263, 2022). In these two articles, 16 new species are described, of which six belong to Hoplitis (Anthocopa), three to Hoplitis (Hoplitis), two to Protosmia (Nanosmia) and one each to Hoplitis (Alcidamea), Hoplitis (Tkalcua), Osmia (Allosmia), Osmia (Nasutosmia) and Osmia (Neosmia). Furthermore, one species of Osmia (Neosmia) is resurrected from synonymy, two former subspecies of Osmia (Allosmia) and Osmia (Neosmia), respectively, are elevated to species rank and one name of Osmia (Neosmia) is newly regarded as nomen dubium.
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New species records 17
The examination of osmiine bee material received from several institutions and private bee researchers revealed the following new country records:
Georgia: Chelostoma (Chelostoma) mocsaryi, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) ozbeki, Hoplitis (Hoplitis) adunca, Osmia (Hoplosmia) spinulosa
Greece: Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) laevifrons
Iran: Hoplitis (Anthocopa) duckeana, Hoplitis (Chlidoplitis) allii, Osmia (Tergosmia) rhodoensis
Israel and Palestine: Hoplitis (Anthocopa) duckeana
Kazakhstan: Hoplitis (Alcidamea) mollis*, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) morinella*, Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) minor, Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) rufopicta, Hoplitis (Stenosmia) dispersipunctata*, Hoplitis (Stenosmia) flavicornis*, Osmia (Osmia) fedtschenkoi, Osmia (Melanosmia) pilicornis, Osmia (Pyrosmia) dilaticornis, Hoplitis (Hoplitis) kaszabi
Kyrgyzstan: Hoplitis (Alcidamea) mollis, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) pinkeunia, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) turcestanica, Hoplitis (Hoplitis) hyperplastica, Osmia (Helicosmia) cinerea
Russia: Hoplitis (Alcidamea) ozbeki
Spain: Hoplitis (Anthocopa) saundersi
Syria: Hoplitis (Alcidamea) grossepunctata
Tajikistan: Heriades (Heriades) truncorum, Hoplitis (Hoplitis) hyperplastica, Hoplitis (Hoplitis) kaszabi*, Osmia (Erythrosmia) relicta, Osmia (Helicosmia) kirgisiana, Osmia (Hoplosmia) spinulosa, Osmia (Osmia) longicornis
Turkmenistan: Chelostoma (Chelostoma) emarginatum, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) grossepunctata, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) irania, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) turcestanica, Hoplitis (Anthocopa) semirubra, Hoplitis (Jaxartinula) malyshevi, Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) minor, Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) nitidula, Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) ruficornis, Osmia (Erythrosmia) andrenoides, Osmia (Helicosmia) aquila, Osmia (Helicosmia) cinerea, Osmia (Hoplosmia) scutellaris, Osmia (Osmia) nigrohirta
Ukraine (mainland): Osmia (Erythrosmia) andrenoides
Uzbekistan: Hoplitis (Alcidamea) laminifera, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) mollis, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) morinella, Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) fascicularia*, Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) karakalensis*, Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) nitidula*, Hoplitis (Stenosmia) dispersipunctata*, Hoplitis (Stenosmia) flavicornis*, Osmia (Helicosmia) prasina, Protosmia (Nanosmia) montana
* = published in Proshchalykin (2022)