Palaearctic Osmiine Bees

Osmiine bee material provided by W. H. Liebig revealed the following new country records for Iran: Hoplitis (Alcidamea) curvipes, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) stellaris and Hoplitis (Anthocopa) perezi.

Osmiine bee material recently collected by A. Fateryga and M. Proshchalykin in Dagestan revealed the following new country records for Russia: Hoplitis (Alcidamea) caucasica, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) scita, Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) tringa, Osmia (Helicosmia) breviata and Osmia (Osmia) scheherazade

Both sexes of Hoplitis scita from Dagestan have a significantly shorter proboscis than those from Kyrgistan, Siberia (Altai, Buryatia, Khakassia, Tyva), Mongolia and China. In addition, the females from Dagestan have a rather dense whitish hair band on the marginal zone of tergum 5, which is missing in females from the more eastern populations. Otherwise, the morphology (including the male sterna and genitalia), pubescense and colour are identical. Unfortunately, no specimens of H. scita are known from the large geographic area between the Dagestan population and the more eastern populations (e.g. from Kazakhstan) that would allow us to assess whether the intermediate populations have intermediate character states indicating a gradual morphological change. As long as no specimens from Kazakhstan are available, the specimens from Dagestan are tentatively treated as conspecific with specimens of H. scita from Kyrgistan, Siberia, Mongolia and China.

Specimens from Ukraine and Astrakhan assumed to be Hoplitis (Alcidamea) turcestanica by Fateryga & Proshchalykin, 2020) proved to be Hoplitis (Alcidamea) mollis (Ukraine, new country record) and a still undescribed H. (Alcidamea) species (Astrakhan). Most probably, H. turcestanica is restricted to Central Asia, it does neither occur in Ukraine nor in southern and central European Russia, and “H. turcestanica” in Banaszak & Romasenko (2001), Medvedev (1978) and Osytshnjuk et al. (1978) likely refers to H. mollis.

Osmia steinmanni was recently found in northwesternmost Slovenia close to the Austrian border by Heinz Wiesbauer (Beiträge zur Entomofaunistik, 24, 55-61, 2023). This is the first record of O. steinmanni for Slovenia and the easternmost record for the species, indicating that the species’ distribution might extend over the entire alpine bow.

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.

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

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.

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

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)

In a recent paper on the bee fauna of the Lebanon, Boustani et al. (Zootaxa, 4976, 1-146, 2021) list almost 50 osmiine bee species recorded for the first time in Lebanon.