Taxa erroneously attributed to the Palaearctic osmiine bees

Female of Osmia (Melanosmia) pilicornis Smith, 1847 opening a flower bud of Pulmonaria (Boraginaceae) by force (right) in order to scratch pollen out of the narrow flower tube with the aid of hooked bristles on the galeae of the proboscis (right). Fotos A. Müller.

Taxa erroneously attributed to the Palaearctic region

Osmia elba Peters, 1983, Linzer Biologische Beiträge, 14: 104.-Type locality “Gebel Elba” is in today’s Sudan (Afrotropic) rather than Egypt as cited on the original specimen labels.

Osmia mea Strand, 1921, Archiv für Naturgeschichte, 87: 303.-Considered to be an extralimital species by Zanden (1986: 67), which was confirmed by Tkalcu (1986), who concludes that O. mea is a junior synonym of Osmia azteca (Cresson, 1878) occurring in Mexico.

Osmia taurimordax Peters, 1983, Linzer Biologische Beiträge, 14: 102.-Type locality “Gebel Elba” is in today’s Sudan (Afrotropic) rather than Egypt as cited on the original specimen labels.

Palaearctic taxa erroneously attributed to the Osmiini

Heriades cinctus (Jurine, 1807) in Spinola (1808: 198) is Dioxys cincta (Jurine, 1807) according to Dalla Torre (1896: 495).

Heriades paxillorum Chevrier, 1872, Mittheilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 3: 506.-Synonym of Stelis breviuscula (Nylander, 1848) in Frey-Gessner (1905: 103).

Heriades punctatissimus (Spinola, 1806) in Spinola (1808: 198) is Stelis aterrima Panzer, 1798 [= Stelis punctulatissima (Kirby, 1802)] according to Dalla Torre (1896: 475).

Osmia blüthgeni Maidl, 1922, Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, 35: 95.-Synonym of Trachusa byssina (Panzer, 1798) in Zanden (1988a: 57).

Osmia superba Friese, 1920, Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift (Berlin), 49.-Considered to be an Anthidium species [not Anthidium superbum Radoszkowski, 1876] and given the NOMEN NOVUM Anthidium alticola Tkalcu in Tkalcu (1967: 91).

Pseudosmia tibiodentata Radoszkowski, 1888, Horae Societatis Entomologicae Rossicae (St. Petersburg), 22: 340.-Combination Osmia tibiodentata (Radoszkowski) in Dalla Torre (1896: 412).-Synonym of Lithurgus tibialis Morawitz, 1875 in Friese (1909: 126).

Osmia kirbyana Heer, manuscript name. Upper Miocene. Öhningen (Baden, Germany).-Considered to be a polistine wasp species in Cockerell (1914: 638) and accepted as Polistes kirbyanus Cockerell in Zeuner and Manning (1976: 202-203).

Osmia primaeva Heer, manuscript name. Upper Miocene. Öhningen (Baden, Germany).-Considered to be an Andrena species in Cockerell (1909a: 316) and accepted as Andrena primaeva Cockerell in Zeuner and Manning (1976: 167).