ACTA ENTOMOLOGICA SLOVENICA
LJUBLJANA, DECEMBER 2009
Vol. 17, st. 2: 93-98
HOPLITIS MAZZUCCOI (SCHWARZ & GUSENLEITNER) IN SLOVENIA AND MICRERIADES SPECIES OF THE EAST ADRIATIC COAST (HYMENOPTERA: MEGACHILIDAE)
Andrej Gogala
Slovenian Museum of Natural History, p.p. 290, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia,
e-mail: agogala@pms-lj.si
Abstract - First records of Hoplitis mazzuccoi (Schwarz & Gusenleitner) from Slovenia are presented with some notes on biology. The species is compared with H. illyrica (Noskiewicz), another member of the subgenus Micreriades Mavromoustakis.
Key words: Hoplitis, Micreriades, Hymenoptera, Megachilidae, fauna, Slovenia.
Izvleček - HOPLITIS MAZZUCCOI (SCHWARZ & GUSENLEITNER) V SLOVENIJI IN VRSTE PODRODU MICRERIADES VZHODNE JADRANSKE OBALE (HYMENOPTERA: MEGACHILIDAE)
Predstavljeni so prvi podatki o čebeli vrste Hoplitis mazzuccoi (Schwarz & Gusenleitner) v Sloveniji, z nekaj zapiski o biologiji. Vrsta je primerjana z vrsto H. illyrica (Noskiewicz), ki prav tako pripada podrodu Micreriades Mavromoustakis.
Ključne besede: Hoplitis, Micreriades, Hymenoptera, Megachilidae, favna, Slovenija.
During investigations of the Slovenian bee fauna, another species was newly discovered at the Karst edge in Slovene Istria, where several newly recorded species have already been found before (Gogala, 2009). In fact, it was found first in the same place (the proximity of a few meters) as the endemic Melitta tomentosa Friese.
Newly recorded species
Hoplitis mazzuccoi (Schwarz & Gusenleitner, 2005)
Istra: Rakitovec, Kavčič, UTM: VL23, 780 m, 30. 5. 2009,	A. Gogala leg.,
660 m, 2. 6. 2009, A. Gogala leg.
It was June 22, 2006 when I noticed a small Hoplitis female at the entrance to a hollow dry Rubus stem. She returned regularly and obviously worked on a nest plug (fig. 1). At the time I didn't determine it correctly and only after May 30, 2009, when I collected male and female specimens at exactly the same place, I became aware of her identity. This time, the specimens patrolled a piece of dry wood and I observed a male (collected later) resting in a beetle burrow. The locality where all this happened is the southern slope of Mt. Kavčič above the village Rakitovec in Cičarija, Slovene Istria. The place is located at 780 m a.s.l., just below the rock escarpment and at the border with Croatia. A few days later I found males also in a place at 660 m, patrolling dry wood and also flowering Lotus corniculatus nearby. On June 9, the specimens were still patrolling the wood. A female was seen examining a beetle burrow.
As the biology of the Micreriades species is not well known, these are important observations. Unfortunately, the material used for nest construction cannot be seen on the photographs and the nest had not been opened. Some sand grains, however, could probably be among hairs of the photographed specimen, what could lead us to presume that this is the material used.
Hoplitis mazzuccoi was described by M. Schwarz and F. Gusenleitner in 2005 (as a species of Osmia), when they distinguished it from the closely related H. tenuispina (Alfken, 1937). It is known from Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey (Ungricht et al., 2008). So, it is an East Mediterranean species, while H. tenuispina is West Mediterranean. A well illustrated description of H. mazzuccoi is found also in the article by B. Tkalcu (1977) under the name of H. tenuispina. Both species are members of the subgenus Micreriades Mavromoustakis, 1958, recognized as a subgenus in Hoplitis by Praz et al. (2008).
Micreriades species of the East Adriatic coast
Hoplitis illyrica (Noskiewicz, 1926) is another Micreriades species known from the East Adriatic coast. It is known from Croatia and Montenegro (lectotype comes from Hercegnovi, Montenegro), and also from some other Mediterranean countries: Italy, Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey (Ungricht et al., 2008). A description of a female is presented by Tkalcu (1974) under the name Heriades illyricus. As Micreriades species are poorly known, I give here the distinguishing characters between H. mazzuccoi and H. illyrica. The material of H. illyrica, used for comparison, is from the collection of Evgen Jaeger, preserved in the Slovenian Museum of Natural History. One male and one female were determined by Gijs van der Zanden in 1994. The data on the localities and collection dates are as follows:
Female: Croatia, Korčula Island, Vela Luka, 1.-15. 6. 1938, E. Jaeger leg.
Male: Croatia, Hvar Island, Jelsa, 1.-7. 6. 1935, E. Jaeger leg.
Differences between Hoplitis mazzuccoi and H. illyrica
Hoplitis illyrica specimens are smaller than H. mazzuccoi.
Females can be distinguished by the punctation of the clypeus (fig. 2). In H. mazzuccoi, the punctures on clypeus are very dense, spaces between them are narrower than the puncture diameter. In H. illyrica, the punctures are smaller and widely spaced in the central, convex part of the clypeus. The interval between punctures is at least as wide as the puncture diameter.
The head of H. mazzuccoi female is wider than that of H. illyrica. The ratio between head width and head length is 0,98 in H. mazzuccoi and 0,87 in H. illyrica.
Males can easily be distinguished by the shape of antennae, tergum 7 and sterna. Antennal segments of H. mazzuccoi are longer and the last segment is curved to a hook-like point (less than in H. leucomelana, but more than in H. ciliaris). The last segment is not curved in H. illyrica (fig. 3).
Tergum 7 of both species has a spine in the middle of the apical edge. Beside that, tergum 7 of H. mazzuccoi has angular dents or extensions laterally at the base (fig. 4, arrow). These are totally missing in H. illyrica.
Sternum 3 is also markedly different in compared species. In H. mazzuccoi, its apical edge is incurved in the middle, and this curvature is covered with dense bristles, similar as in sternum 4. In H. illyrica, the apical edge of sternum 3 is almost straight, with only a few bristles (fig. 5). This character distinguishes H. illyrica also from H. tenuispina.
Fig. 1: Hoplitis mazzuccoi female working on the nest plug in a dry Rubus stem. Mt. Kavčič, Rakitovec, June 22, 2006.
Fig. 2: Heads of H. mazzuccoi (left) and H. illyrica (right) females.
Fig. 3: Heads of H. mazzuccoi (left) and H. illyrica (right) males.
Fig. 4: Apical terga of H. mazzuccoi (left) and H. illyrica (right) males. The arrow points to a lateral dent in tergum 7, characteristic of H. mazzuccoi.
Fig. 5: Sterna of H. illyrica male.
Discussion
The discovery of another rarely found bee species at the Karst edge in Cičarija is yet another proof of the exceptionally high biodiversity in this area. Extensive grasslands, limestone ground, South-oriented inclination and the terrain which partly shelters from the strong bora wind are the most obvious causes for this diversity. The area is really worth of nature protection.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Andreas Müller (Zürich) for useful suggestions during the identification process of the collected material and after reading the manuscript, and to late Gijs van der Zanden (Eindhoven) for determination of the H. illyrica specimens.
References
Gogala, A., 2009: Mediterranean bee species, newly recorded in Slovenia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Acta entomologica slovenica, 17 (1): 73-78.
Praz, C.J., A. Müller, B.N. Danforth, T.L. Griswold, A. Widmer, S. Dorn, 2008: Phylogeny and biogeography of bees of the tribe Osmiini (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 49: 185-197.
Schwarz, M., F. Gusenleitner, T. Kopf, 2005: Weitere Angaben zur Bienenfauna Österreichs sowie Beschreibung einer neuen Osmia-Art. Vorstudie zu einer Gesamtbearbeitung der Bienen Österreichs VIII. Entomofauna, 26 (8): 117-164.
Tkalcu, B., 1974: Ergebnisse der Albanien-Expedition 1961 des Deutschen Entomologischen Institutes, 89. Beitrag, Hymenoptera: Apoidea V (Megachilidae). Beitr. Ent, Berlin, 24: 323-348.
Tkalcu, B., 1977: Taxonomische Notizen zu einigen paläarktischen Osmiini-Arten. Acta Musei Moraviae, Scientiae naturales, 62: 87-98.
Ungricht, S., A. Müller, S. Dorn, 2008: A taxonomic catalogue of the Palaearctic bees of the tribe Osmiini (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae). Zootaxa, 1865: 253 pp.
Received / Prejeto: 16. 9. 2009