Chelostoma (Gyrodromella) rapunculi (Lepeletier 1841) Lepeletier 1841
- Dataset
- Palaearctic Chelostoma bees of the subgenus Gyrodromella (Megachilidae, Osmiini): biology, taxonomy and key to species
- Rank
- SPECIES
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Arthropoda
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Hymenoptera
- family
- Megachilidae
- genus
- Chelostoma
- species
- Chelostoma rapunculi
distribution
Distribution. Widespread in the Palaearctic region, from the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria) and the Levant (Israel and Palestine, Jordan and Syria) northwards over the whole of Europe (except Norway) up to northern Finland (northernmost record south of Inari 68.44 ° N, 27.36 ° E), and from Turkey and the Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Georgia) eastwards to Iran, Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan), China, Mongolia and Far eastern Russia. The species has been introduced into the Nearctic region and occurs in a small region encompassing northeasternmost USA and southeastern Canada (Ascher and Pickering, 2014). Pollen hosts. Oligolectic on Campanula (Campanulaceae) and possibly also on closely related genera (Fig. 3; Amiet et al., 2004, Sedivy et al., 2008, Westrich, 1989). In fact, the species epithet “ rapunculi ” and the vernacular name “ Hériade de la raiponce ” both given by Lepeletier (1841) refer to Phyteuma, suggesting that flowers of this Campanulaceae genus might occasionally be exploited by C. rapunculi in addition to Campanula. Nesting biology. Nesting sites are preexisting linear cavities such as insect burrows and drilled borings in dead wood or bark, hollow stems (e. g. reed, bamboo), drilled borings in stems or glas tubes (Benoist, 1929; Bonelli, 1967; Brechtel, 1986; Käpylä, 1978; Ruszkowski et al., 1995; Stoeckhert, 1933; Westrich, 1989). Inside these narrow cavities, one to several brood cells are arranged in a linear series (Fig. 1). Cell partitions and nest plug are made of mud mixed with nectar and probably also saliva (Westrich, 1989). Small pebbles, sand grains and other particles are embedded in the outer surface of the nest plug (Fig. 2). Note. The shape of male tergum 7 was hitherto assumed to be the only reliable character for the discrimination of the widespread C. rapunculi from C. confusum and C. proximum, which have been described based on specimens collected in northern Africa and the Caucasus, respectively. The examination of a large number of specimens of C. rapunculi, however, revealed a considerable intraspecific variability in the shape of tergum 7 on the one hand and gradual transitions in the shape of tergum 7 between these taxa on the other hand. Specifically, i) the lower median tooth of tergum 7 gradually gets narrower and shorter towards northern Africa and the Levant resulting in the relatively small lower tooth considered typical for C. confusum, and ii) the upper lateral teeth gradually get wider and increasingly fuse with each other and with the lower median tooth towards eastern Turkey and the Caucasus resulting in the straight transverse apical margin of tergum 7 considered typical for C. proximum. Due to this clinal variation, which eliminates the morphological gaps previously assumed to exist between the three taxa, and the absence of any other clear characters separating C. rapunculi, C. confusum and C. proximum in either sexes, these three taxa are considered here to be conspecific, representing a single widespread and morphologically variable species.
Name
- Synonyms
- Apis fuliginosa Panzer 1798
- Chelostoma inerme Eversmann 1852
- Chelostoma proximum Schletterer 1889
- Heriades casularum Chevrier 1872
- Heriades confusa Benoist 1934
- Heriades nigricornis Nylander 1848
- Heriades rapunculi Lepeletier 1841
- Osmia (Acanthosmia) archanensis Cockerell 1928
- Osmia (Acanthosmia) platyodonta Cockerell 1928
- Homonyms
- Chelostoma (Gyrodromella) rapunculi (Lepeletier 1841) Lepeletier 1841
- Chelostoma rapunculi