Anthidium eximium Giraud, 1863

Kasparek, Max, 2021, The bee genus Pseudoanthidium: revision of the subgenus Exanthidium with the description of a new species (Apoidea: Megachilidae), Fragmenta entomologica 53 (2), pp. 333-346 : 337-340

Anthidium eximium Giraud, 1863 ( Italy, Piedmont) Anthidium excisum Mocsáry, 1884 ( Spain)

Material examined. SPAIN: from the 1890s, coll. A. Weis ( SMF) . 1♀ Cutamilla (41°00’N, 02°43’W?), 16 July 1919, J. M. Dusmet leg. ( OLL) . BULGARIA: 2♀, 3♂ Lo- cenec/ Mičurin [Tsarevo], 24 June 1988, B. & O. Tkalců leg. ( OLL) ; 1♀, 1♂ Sozopol [Sosopol], 3 July 1979, A. Hoffer leg. ( OLL) ; 1♀ 2♂ Ploski [Sandanski Municipality], 6 July

1990, B. & O. Tkalců leg. ( OLL); 2♀ 2♂ Arkutino , July 1988 , B. & O. Tkalců leg. ( OLL); 8♀, 10♂, Sandanski , Apr 1969 , A. Kocourek leg. ( CMK); 1♀ Arkutino , vii.1968 , A. Görtler leg. ( CMK). RUSSIA: 1♀, Ingushetia, Terskaya Province (Terek Oblast), Egochkal nr. Dzheyrakh , 9 Aug 1927 , Kiritschenko leg. ( OLL, also Mavromoustakis 1948). TURKEY: 1♀ Ankara: Beynam 15 km S Ankara, 22 July 1987 , K. Warncke leg. ( OLL); 1♂, Isparta prov.: Karakuş Dağı centr. (N 38°15’ E 30°39’), 1460 m, 11 July 2006 , J. Halada leg. ( CMK); 1♂ Kars: 20 km W Sarıkamış , 2150 m, 7 Aug. 1979 , K. Warncke leg. ( OLL; Warncke 1980); 1♀, 1♂ Konya-Taşkent , 1800 m, 6 Aug 1991 , K. Warncke leg. ( OLL); 2♀ Erzincan: pass W of Erzincan , 2000 m, 22 Aug 1991 , K. Warncke leg. ( OLL); 1♂ Erzurum, 17 Sept 1977 , H. Özbek leg. ( OLL); 1♀, 1♂, Gümüşhane, 1200 m, 12 July 1985 , M. Schwarz leg. ( CMK); 1♀, Hakkari: Omar 10 km NE, 1700 m, 29 June 1985 , M. Schwarz leg. ( CMK); 1♀ Van: Muradiye , 1750 m, 16 July 1988 , Ch. Schmid- Egger leg. ( OLL); 1♂ Van: Tatvan-Bitlis , 1770 m, 16 Aug 1991 , K. Warncke leg. ( OLL). IRAN: 1♂ Az Zanak-Ski , 11 km N Ab Ali (Elburs), 2300 m, 14 July 1965 , A. Giordani Soika leg. ( OLL; Warncke 1982).

The female is characterised by a deeply depressed T6 (in lateral view almost rectangularly concave) with a small wing ventrad on each side of the apex. The male is characterised by a regular V-shaped emargination of T7 (not U-shaped, no indentions or extensions) and a postocular yellow maculation and a yellow stripe at the anterior margin of the scutum.

Female ( Figs 6-7 ). 8-9 mm. Head: Clypeus bell-shaped, yellow with broad black longitudinal band and black apical margin; longitudinal band sometimes reduced to a few remnants; apical margin emarginate, crenulate, covered by dense white apical pubescence; mandible yellow with a large apical and four almost equally-sized blunt, triangular teeth; lower paraocular area and lower half of upper paraocular area yellow; large yellow triangular postocular maculation; subantennal suture arcuate outwards; dense, honeycomb punctation on head; preoccipital ridge angular to rounded.

Mesosoma : Scutellum black with dense honeycomb-like punctation; yellow anterior marginal band; pronotal lobe with high lamella; scutellum black, posteriorly yellow; posteromedially slightly depressed; posterior margin straight, almost rectangular laterally.

Metasoma: Lateral yellow stripes attenuated inwards or interrupted; stripes not reaching the middle on T1-T4, but mostly contiguous on T5; punctation of discs coarse, finer on depressions; smooth impunctate marginal zone turned upwards; T6 deeply depressed (concave in lateral view); apical margin irregularly rugged with small wing directed ventrad; tibiae and tarsi reddish-brown; scopa dark brown.

Male ( Figs 6-7 ). (7-) 9-11 mm. Head: Clypeus, supraclypeal area, lower paraocular area, lower part of upper paraocular area, and postocular triangle yellow; mandible yellow with three large black teeth; antenna black.

Mesosoma : As in female.

Metasoma: Lateral yellow bands on T1-T6 attenuated inwards and often reduced to remnants especially proximally; T3 laterally bulging; T4 laterally bulging or with blunt tooth; T5 and T6 with flat lateral tooth; T7 with lateral lobes and deep median V-shaped emargination (i.e. emargination broadening towards distal end); S 3 with long hairs with hooked apex; S 5 with a row of long, straight hairs at posterior margin; S 6 semitrapezoid with laterally thickened margins and truncate apex; (hidden) S 8 with triangular apex. Genitalia as in Fig. 3 . Yellow tergal pattern more extensive in specimens from Turkey than those from the Balkans and Western Mediterranean.

Biology. Oligolectic on Asteraceae with strong preference for Asteroideae (Müller, 1969) but also recorded on Carduoideae ( Centaurea, Onopordon ) (Grace 2010; Özbek & van der Zanden 1993). Özbek & van der Zanden (1993) reported also Fabaceae ( Onobrychis ) and Grace (2010) Lythraceae ( Lythrum ). Females were reported to gather pollen by “seesawing” the scopa directly against anthers ( Müller 1996). High summer species collected mostly in June and July. In eastern Anatolian highlands still in August and September ( Özbek & van der Zanden 1993).

Distribution. Widely distributed from Portugal in the west over the Mediterranean, Turkey and the Caucasus to the Iranian Elburz Mountains ( Fig. 8 ). PORTUGAL: North Portugal, Trás-os-Montes, Moimenta ( Baldock et al. 2018). SPAIN: Granada ( Mocsáry, 1884); Villalba, El Escorial, and Los Molino (Madrid), Baños de Montemayor (Cáceres) (Dusmet y Alonso 1908); Puerto Ragua (Sierra Nevada)

(Almeria) and Río Nechite (Valor, Sierra Nevada) (Granada) (Ortiz y Sánchez 1990); See also material. FRANCE: South France ( Warncke 1980). ITALY: Susa and Oulx, Piedmont ( Giraud 1863; Litman et al. 2016); Aosta Valley ( Steinmann 2002; Amiet et al. 2004). BULGARIA: Trigrad ( Warncke 1980). See material. TURKEY: Erzurum city; Oltu (Erzurum prov.); Köprüköy (Erzurum prov.) ( Özbek & van der Zanden 1993). ARMENIA: Chedar River 7 km E of Yerevan ( Warncke 1980). AZERBAIJAN (NAKHCHIVAN AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC): Sharur, Akhura (39°33′N, 45°13′E) ( Fateryga et al. 2020).

Figures

Fig. 6 – Pseudoanthidium eximium. A, Female; B, Male, both from Bulgaria (CMK).

Fig. 7 – Pseudoanthidium eximium from Bulgaria. A, female face; B, male face; C, female apical terga; D, male apical terga.

Fig. 3 – Male genitalia of P. deserticolum sp. n. (upper row, A-C), P. wahrmanicum (middle row, D-F), and P. eximium (lower row, G-I). A/D/G: dorsal view, B/E/H: ventral view, C/F/I: lateral view.

Fig. 8 – Distribution of Pseudoanthidium eximium.