Rhodanthidium

Rhodanthidium
	Rhodanthidium sticticum
Systematics
Order :	Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Superfamily :	Apoidea
without rank:	Bees (Apiformes)
Family :	Megachilidae
Subfamily :	Megachilinae
Genre :	Rhodanthidium
Scientific name
	Rhodanthidium
	Isensee , 1927

Rhodanthidium is a genus of bees in the Megachilidae family. The genus is common in the Palearctic . There are 13 known species. There are two types of Rhodanthidium inCentral Europe.

Some authors count the species of the genus Rhodanthidium to the genus Anthidium .

In German these bees are mostly called wool bees , but the German name is not limited to this genus (and seems to be based on a misunderstanding).

morphology

The Rhodanthidium species are very similar to the species of the genus Anthidium . The animals are medium to very large, about 8.5 to 22 mm long (male of R. superbum up to 31 mm). The males are slightly larger than the females. The body is black, usually with yellow or yellow-red markings (two types are colored red: R.siculum and R. sticticum ). The females are lightly haired on the underside of the abdomen (belly brush). In females, the mandibles are yellow with black teeth.

The particularly large R. superbum is very similar to hornets ( Vespa crabro , V. orientalis ), an obvious mimicry.

A reliable differentiation of the closely related genera Anthidium , Icteranthidium , Pseudoanthidium and Rhodanthidium requires precise morphological investigation.

Way of life

The bees of the genus Rhodanthodium are solitary, they collect pollen, which they transport with the belly brush (hair on the underside of the abdomen). The two species found in Central Europe are polylectic, that is, they collect pollen from different plants.

The nests of several species are created in empty snail shells. The behavior of R. stictium is best known : several males fight for a female and try to copulate. Once the female has chosen a snail shell to build a nest for, a male will defend the shell and the immediate area as territory. The male copulates repeatedly with the female, who brings pollen and builds and supplies a brood cell in the snail shell. The snail shell is finally closed with sand and saliva. Resin is also used as a building material. The snail shell is then buried in sand or under stones.

In R. caturigense is both resin used and plant fibers to create the cells. The cells are created in the ground in self-dug cavities, sometimes in aggregations.

Systematics

The genus Rhodathidium belongs within the subfamily Megachilinae to the tribe Anthidini . According to Michener (2007), this tribe is divided into 37 genera (see Anthidium for more details ). According to phylogenetically systematic investigations, the genera Anthidiellum , Icteranthidium , Pseudoanthidium are closely related to Rhodanthidium ( Dianthidium generic group).

The genus Rhodanthidium is divided into three sub-genera (number of species in brackets): Asianthidium (3), Meganthidium (1) and Rhodanthidium s. st. (9).

species

(to )

Rhodanthidium aculeatum : Turkey, Iran, Lebanon
Rhodanthidium acuminatum : Morocco, Sicily, Greece, Turkey
Rhodanthidium buteum : south-east Turkey
Rhodanthidium caturigense : (three subspecies, possibly a species complex)
- R. c. caturigense : Pyrenees (Spain and France) and Southern Alps (Switzerland, Northern Italy)
- R. c. ducale : Balkans (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece), Georgia
- R. c. jerusalemicum: Turkey, Israel, Jordan
Rhodanthidium exsectum : Turkey, Iran, Lebanon
Rhodanthidium glasunovi : Central Asia
Rhodanthidium infuscatum : Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Portugal, Spain, Andorra, France, Croatia
Rhodanthidium ordonezi : Morocco
Rhodanthidium rufocinctum : Crete (Malta?)
Rhodanthidium septemdentatum : (two subspecies)
- R. s. septemdentatum: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Balkans, Sardinia, Sicily, Cyprus, Greece (Greek Islands), Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan
- R. s. faciale : Crete and Malta (?)
Rhodanthidium siculum : Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Portugal, Sicily, Malta
Rhodanthidium sticticum : Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Portugal, Spain, southern France, Sicily, Balearic Islands, Corsica
Rhodanthidium superbum : Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Georgia

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Max Kasparek: Bees in the genus Rhodanthidium: A review and identification guide . In: Entomofauna . Supplement 24. Ansfelden 2019, p. 132 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).
↑ ^a ^b ^c Erwin Scheuchl, Wolfgang Willner: Pocket dictionary of the wild bees of Central Europe . Quelle & Meyer, 2016, ISBN 978-3-494-01653-5 , pp. 793-795 .
↑ Solitary bee species: Woolly and resin bees (Anthidium). Retrieved April 13, 2020 .
^ ^A ^b Paul Westrich: The wild bees of Germany . Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2018, ISBN 978-3-8186-0123-2 , p. 578 .
^ ^A ^b ^c Charles D. Michener: Bees of the World . 2nd Edition. 2007, p. 72, 528-529 .
↑ Jessica R. Litman, Terry L. Griswold, Bryan N. Danforth: Phylogenetic systematics and a revised generic classification of anthidiine bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) . In: Molecular phylogenetics and evolution . tape 100 , 2016, p. 183-198 ( researchgate.net ).

[:3-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Max Kasparek: Bees in the genus Rhodanthidium: A review and identification guide . In: Entomofauna . Supplement 24. Ansfelden 2019, p. 132 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).

[:1-2] Erwin Scheuchl, Wolfgang Willner: Pocket dictionary of the wild bees of Central Europe . Quelle & Meyer, 2016, ISBN 978-3-494-01653-5 , pp. 793-795 .

[3] Solitary bee species: Woolly and resin bees (Anthidium). Retrieved April 13, 2020 .

[:2-4] A ^b Paul Westrich: The wild bees of Germany . Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2018, ISBN 978-3-8186-0123-2 , p. 578 .

[:0-5] A ^b ^c Charles D. Michener: Bees of the World . 2nd Edition. 2007, p. 72, 528-529 .

[6] Jessica R. Litman, Terry L. Griswold, Bryan N. Danforth: Phylogenetic systematics and a revised generic classification of anthidiine bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) . In: Molecular phylogenetics and evolution . tape 100 , 2016, p. 183-198 ( researchgate.net ).