Palaearctic Osmiine Bees

A critical evaluation of the occurrence of certain osmiine bee species in Morocco resulted in the following findings:

a) Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) helouanensis most probably does not occur in Morocco as already assumed by Warncke (1991a). It is replaced in the Maghreb by the closely related H. villiersi. The records of H. helouanensis from Morocco listed by Warncke (1991a) are exactly the same as those given for H. villiersi in the same publication, which clearly points to an error made by the author. Thus, H. helouanensis is eliminated from the list of Moroccon bees.

b) Hoplitis (Anthocopa) bisulca most probably does not occur in Morocco. It is replaced in the Maghreb by the closely related H. quadrispina. Thus, H. bisulca is eliminated from the list of Moroccon bees.

c) The two records of Hoplitis (Alcidamea) grandiscapa from Morocco given by Warncke (1991h) most probably refer to H. occidentalis; as no other records exist for Morocco, the species is eliminated from the list of Moroccon bees.

d) Among the material of Osmia (Helicosmia) melanogaster from Morocco, a female of the closely related O. labialis was found; this is the first record of this species for Morocco.

e) The identity of Protosmia (Protosmia) stelidoides described from Algeria is unclear as the type specimen is lost (Griswold, 1985). Since there are no reliable records from Morocco, the species is eliminated from the list of Moroccon bees.

Matthieu Aubert recently discovered Osmia (Pyrosmia) nana and Osmia (Melanosmia) steinmanni in the Mercantour national park in southeastern France. These two species have never been found in France before. For O. nana it is the westernmost record known so far. The new record of O. steinmanni, which was  known only from a few localities in Switzerland and one locality in South Tyrol, indicates that this very rare species has a wider distribution than hitherto assumed.

The examination of osmiine bee material received from Max Schwarz (Ansfelden) and the Oberösterreichische Landesmuseum Linz revealed the following new country records:

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Osmia (Helicosmia) aurulenta

Iran: Chelostoma (Chelostoma) dolosum, Heriades (Heriades) rubicola, Hoplitis (Anthocopa) semirubra, Hoplitis (Stenosmia) flavicornis, Osmia (Pyrosmia) nana, Osmia (Pyrosmia) nigricollis

Macedonia: Hoplitis (Micreriades) mazzuccoi, Protosmia (Protosmia) glutinosa

Kazakhstan: Hoplitis (Hoplitis) adunca, Osmia (Osmia) bicornis globosa, Osmia (Osmia) cornuta cornuta

Turkmenistan: Osmia (Helicosmia) subcornuta

Osmia (Melanosmia) disjuncta was described by Tkalcu (1995) from Mongolia. In a recent paper published in Entomologisk Tidskrift (138, 25-32, 2017), Johansson & Paukkunen report this species also from central Sweden, central and northern Finland and the Kola peninsula in northern Russia. As no males have been discovered in Europe so far and the European females were found to slightly differ from the type specimens, there remained some uncertainty whether the European specimens indeed belong to Osmia disjuncta or whether they might represent a new species. However, material collected by T. Levchenko in Moscow province recently revealed typical males of Osmia disjuncta, indicating that this species is indeed a member of the European bee fauna. Further material kindly provided by T. Levchenko and J. Smit revealed the occurrence of Osmia disjuncta in western and eastern Siberia as well. Thus, Osmia disjuncta is distributed from Scandinavia over northern and central Russia to Mongolia.

The examination of osmiine bee material received from the Oberösterreichische Landesmuseum Linz revealed the following new country records:

Greece: Chelostoma ventrale

Jordan: Chelostoma (Foveosmia) isabellinum

C. Schmid-Egger collected a male of Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) pomarina on Cyprus in late spring 2013. This is the first record of this species on Cyprus.

Hoplitis (Anthocopa) saxialis is a very rare osmiine bee species, which seems to be restricted to high elevations. In Europe, the species has been found so far only in Greece on the Tymfi mountain and on the Mount Olympus above 2000m. It has further been recorded in eastern Turkey near Erzurum (2500m), around the Itkol in the Russian Caucasus (2100-2300m) and on the Alam-Kuh in the Elburz mountains in northern Iran (3500-4000m). Interestingly, C. Schmid-Egger has collected a male of H. saxialis in the Aosta valley mid July 2012 at an elevation of 2300m. Such a highly disjunct distribution area with occurrences in the Italian Alps, northern Greece and eastern Turkey/northern Iran is very unusual in the osmiine bees.

Shahram Falamarzi (Yasouj University, Iran) collected Hoplitis (Stenosmia) aravensis and Hoplitis (Anthocopa) fasciculata in southwestern Iran in spring 2014. H. aravensis was known before only from the Levant, and the record of H. fasciculata is the easternmost record for this species so far. Interestingly, the females of H. fasciculata from Iran are partly red-coloured in contrast to the entirely black females of more western populations.

The examination of osmiine bees received from Matthieu Aubert revealed the presence of Hoplitis (Anthocopa) fasciculata in Corsica. In Europe, this species has been known so far only from Sardinia, Greece and Crete.

Three osmiine bee species have been recorded for the first time in Egypt: Hoplitis (Alcidamea) epeoliformis, Hoplitis (Platosmia) africana and Hoplitis (Platosmia) gerofita.