Palaearctic Osmiine Bees

Osmiine bee material recently received from Stefan Risch and the Oberösterreichische Landesmuseum Linz revealed the following new country records:

Bulgaria: Osmia (Helicosmia) labialis

Croatia: Hoplitis (Hoplitis) carinata, Hoplitis (Micreriades) mazzuccoi, Osmia (Allosmia) bischoffi, Osmia (Neosmia) bicolor, Osmia (Pyrosmia) hellados

Hungary: Hoplitis (Hoplitis) manicata

Israel: Hoplitis (Alcidamea) brachypogon

Serbia and Montenegro: Chelostoma (Foveosmia) foveolatum, Heriades (Heriades) crenulatus, Osmia (Helicosmia) aurulenta, Osmia (Helicosmia) caerulescens, Osmia (Helicosmia) melanogaster, Osmia (Helicosmia) niveata

Several samples of osmiine bees recently received from Naturalis (Leiden) and the American Museum of Natural History (New york) revealed the following new country records:

Andorra: Heriades (Heriades) truncorum, Hoplitis (Hoplitis) adunca, Osmia (Osmia) bicornis, Osmia (Helicosmia) caerulescens, Osmia (Metallinella) brevicornis

Israel: Hoplitis (Anthocopa) mocsaryi, Osmia (Helicosmia) mirhiji

Portugal: Protosmia (Nanosmia) asensioi

Russia: Hoplitis (Anthocopa) caucasicola

Turkey: Osmia (Helicosmia) mirhiji

Stenoheriades maroccanus and Hoplitis (Chlidoplitis) teucrii have been recorded so far only from Morocco. The examination of a large osmiine bee material kindly provided by Max Schwarz (Ansfelden) and Fritz Gusenleitner (Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum Linz) revealed that both species have a wider distribution than hitherto assumed: S. maroccanus also occurs  in southern Spain and Sicily, and H. teucrii in southern Spain. In addition, Hoplitis (Micreriades) antalyae, formerly known only from Turkey, is distributed also on several islands of the Aegean.

A sample of osmiine bees from Bulgaria and Greece contained several specimens of a new European Heriades species of the subgenus Michenerella. The females exactly correspond morphologically to the females of Heriades hissaricus, which was known so far from Central Asia, Iran and Turkey. The new European records indicate that H. hissaricus has a much larger distribution area than hitherto thought. However, as the male of H. hissaricus is not yet known, the European specimens might possibly represent a still undescribed species, which cannot be distinguished from H. hissaricus in the female sex.

In a recent paper, Nadimi et al. (2013) report on the occurrence of 25 osmiine bee species from northern Iran. Six species are recorded for the first time for Iran: Chelostoma (Chelostoma) diodon, Chelostoma (Gyrodromella) rapunculi, Heriades (Heriades) truncorum, Heriades (Rhopaloheriades) clavicornis, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) ciliaris and Osmia (Hoplosmia) bidentata.

On their excursion to Tunisia in spring 2012, C. Sedivy, C. Praz and A. Müller recorded the following four species for the first time for Tunisia: Hoplitis (Anthocopa) batyamae, Hoplitis (Chlidoplitis) taenioceras, Hoplitis (Stenosmia) jordanica and Osmia (Hemiosmia) argyropyga.

Several samples of osmiine bees received from M. Schwarz, C. Sedivy, C. Praz and the Oberösterreichische Landesmuseum Linz (F. Gusenleitner) revealed the following new country records:

Bulgaria: Hoplitis (Alcidamea) acuticornis, Hoplitis (Alcidamea) ciliaris, Hoplitis (Pentadentosmia) laevifrons, Osmia (Allosmia) sybarita, Osmia (Helicosmia) subcornuta, Osmia (Pyrosmia) cyanoxantha, Osmia (Pyrosmia) laticauda

China: Hoplitis (Annosmia) kaszabi

Greece: Osmia (Osmia) mustelina griseohirta

Israel: Hoplitis (Annosmia) tunica

Jordan: Chelostoma (Gyrodromella) hebraeum, Osmia (Pyrosmia) versicolor

Kyrgyzstan: Hoplitis (Anthocopa) alatauensis

Moldova: Chelostoma (Chelostoma) florisomne, Heriades (Heriades) crenulatus, Heriades (Heriades) truncorum, Osmia (Helicosmia) caerulescens, Osmia (Hoplosmia) spinulosa

Tunisia: Hoplitis (Alcidamea) limassolica, Hoplitis (Annosmia) israelica, Hoplitis (Anthocopa) rugidorsis

Uzbekistan: Heriades (Heriades) truncorum

Several samples of osmiine bees received from L. Noren, C. Schmid-Egger and E. Scheuchl revealed the following new country records:

Bulgaria: Hoplitis (Anthocopa) perezi, Osmia (Neosmia) jason

United Arab Emirates: Hoplitis (Stenosmia) minima

A closer study of the four species of the subgenus Erythrosmia clarified their distribution.  i) Osmia sparsipuncta is confined to the Maghreb. ii) Osmia relicta exclusively occurs in Central Asia. iii) Osmia erythrogastra, which is a valid species based on the examination of the type material, occurs in Southern Europe, Turkey and the Near East. iv) Osmia andrenoides occurs in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe as well as in Turkey and the Near East; all literature records of Osmia andrenoides from Northern Africa are most probably erroneous and refer to Osmia sparsipuncta. v) Osmia erythrogastra and Osmia andrenoides are sympatric in Southern Europe, Turkey and the Near East and were in several cases even found to be syntopic.

In a recent paper, Rightmyer, Griswold and Arduser (2010) review the non-metallic Osmia (Melanosmia) species of North America. Interestingly, Osmia laticeps Thomson, 1872 and Osmia maritima Friese, 1885, which were thought to be confined to the Palaearctic region, also occur in North America. Other Melanosmia species with a holarctic distribution are Osmia inermis (Zetterstedt, 1838) and Osmia nigriventris (Zetterstedt, 1838). The northern temperate to boreoalpine distribution of most non-metallic Melanosmia species may have facilitated the intercontinental exchange of some species via Beringia.