Corresponding author: Andreas Müller (
Academic editor: J. Neff
The osmiine bee species
Müller A, Mauss V, Prosi R (2017) Unique nest architecture in the North African osmiine bee
The osmiine bee species
In spring 2017, two nests of
In the present contribution, we describe the peculiar North African nests of
Two nests of
To exclude the possibility that the discrepancy in the nesting behaviour between North African and European populations of
To find new and reevaluate already published morphological differences (
The three nests of
Characteristics of three nests of
Nest 1 | Nest 2 | Nest 3 | |
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(Figs |
(Figs |
(Fig. |
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Locality | near Ait Baha in southern Morocco | near Ait Baha in southern Morocco | near El Kef in northern Tunisia |
Nest substrate | middle-sized stone (28 cm × 18 cm) partly buried in the ground | rock | small stone (16 cm × 7 cm) partly buried in the ground |
Maximal length × maximal width of nest | 6.2 cm × 5.1 cm | 4.5 cm × 4 cm | 5.4 cm × 4.8 cm |
Maximal height of nest | 2.0 cm | 1.9 cm | 1.7 cm |
Sides of nest | concave | concave | convex |
Number of brood cells | 12 | 8 | 11 |
Nests of
The three nests were all of roundish to oval shape measuring 4.5–6.2 cm in maximal length, 4.0–5.1 cm in maximal width and 1.7–2.0 cm in maximal height (Table
The nests contained 8–12 brood cells, which had been built side by side (Table
The examination of specimens of
Biological and morphological differences between
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Distribution | Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and Levant (Israel and Palestine, Jordan) | southwestern Europe (Iberian Peninsula, southern France, northern Italy, southern Switzerland) and Sicily |
Nesting biology | free-standing, cake-like nests constructed from mud on horizontal and flat surfaces of stones and rocks containing 8-12 brood cells | hidden nests built in small cavities of rocks containing one to possibly few brood cells constructed from mud ( |
Male characters | antennal segments 6–12 slightly shorter than wide (Fig. |
antennal segments 6–12 slightly longer than wide (Fig. |
distance between lateral ocellus and preoccipital ridge 1.5–1.65× as long as ocellar diameter | distance between lateral ocellus and preoccipital ridge 1.8–2× as long as ocellar diameter | |
pilosity of tergal discs less strongly developed, on apical half of discs 3–5 distinctly shorter than on basal half | pilosity of tergal discs more strongly developed, on apical half of discs 3–5 about as long as on basal half | |
apical rectangular plate of tergum 7 almost as long as wide (Fig. |
apical rectangular plate of tergum 7 distinctly wider than long (Fig. |
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transversal subapical swellings of sterna 2–4 more strongly developed | transversal subapical swellings of sterna 2–4 less strongly developed | |
lateral lobes of membraneous appendage of sternum 6 narrower and less diverging, separated from each other by a shorter incision and densely covered with yellowish-white pilosity (Fig. |
lateral lobes of membraneous appendage of sternum 6 wider and more diverging, separated from each other by a deeper incision and densely covered with yellowish-brown pilosity (Fig. |
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apex of gonostylus and outer margin of penis valve with distinctly longer hairs (Fig. |
apex of gonostylus and outer margin of penis valve with distinctly shorter hairs (Fig. |
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penis valve more or less parallel-sided except for its apicalmost part and apically more rounded (Fig. |
penis valve tapering towards its apex and apically more acute (Fig. |
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Female characters | distance between lateral ocellus and preoccipital ridge 1.5–1.6× as long as ocellar diameter (Fig. |
distance between lateral ocellus and preoccipital ridge 1.8–1.9x as long as ocellar diameter (Fig. |
pilosity of tergal discs shorter, on discs 3–4 less than 1.5× as long as maximal width of antennal flagellum (Fig. |
pilosity of tergal discs longer, on discs 3–4 about 2× as long as maximal width of antennal flagellum (Fig. |
Morphological differences in the male sex between
Morphological differences in the female sex between
Among bees, exposed nests constructed from mud and glued to the surface of stones and rocks are known only from a few taxa of megachiline and osmiine bees. Free-standing mud nests occur in numerous
The nests of
The two nesting sites of
Some members of the
The morphological analysis revealed a distinct morphological gap between non-European and European populations of
European populations of
C. Praz and C. Sedivy participated in an excursion to Tunisia in 2012. C. Praz bred the nest of