A review of the anthidiine bees (Apoidea, Megachilidae) in Thailand.

Bees of the tribe Anthidiini (Apoidea: Megachilidae) are notable pollinators consisting of resin bees, wool-carder bees, and cleptoparasitic bees. Twelve anthidiine species were historically reported in Thailand, though the taxonomic information of the group was needed revising. In this study, 165 (97♀, 68♂) anthidiine bee specimens deposited at the Chulalongkorn University Natural History Museum, Thailand, were examined with material obtained from various museum collections. Specimens were principally collected in Thailand with some from Laos and Myanmar. Here, at least eight genera and 15 species of anthidiine bees are recognized: Anthidiellum (5), Bathanthidium (1), Eoanthidium (1), Euaspis (4), Pachyanthidium (1), Pseudoanthidium (1), Stelis (1), and Trachusa (1). Dianthidiumchinensis Wu, 1962, Eoanthidiumchinensis (Wu, 1962), Eoanthidiumsemicarinatum Pasteels, 1972, and Eoanthidiumpunjabensis Gupta & Sharma, 1953 are relegated as junior synonyms of Eoanthidium (Hemidiellum) riparium (Cockerell, 1929), stat. nov. Both Anthidiellum (Pycnanthidium) latipes (Bingham, 1897) from Phang Nga and Euaspisaff.wegneri Baker, 1995 from Chumphon were identified as new records for Thailand. Trachusaaff.vietnamensis Flaminio & Quaranta, 2021 from Phitsanulok is a new record for the genus found in Thailand, whereas Pseudoanthidium (Pseudoanthidium) orientale (Bingham, 1897) is a new record for Laos. Annotated comments are provided for some taxa and identification keys for the Thai anthidiine bees is provided.

The new annotated checklist of the wild bees of Europe (Hymenoptera: Anthophila).

At a time when nature conservation has become essential to ensure the long-term sustainability of our environment, it is widely acknowledged that conservation actions must be implemented within a solid taxonomic framework. In preparation for the upcoming update of the IUCN Red List, we here update the European checklist of the wild bees (sensu the IUCN geographical framework). The original checklist, published in 2014, was revised for the first time in 2017. In the present revision, we add one genus, four subgenera and 67 species recently described, 40 species newly recorded since the latest revision (including two species that are not native to Europe), 26 species overlooked in the previous European checklists and 63 published synonymies. We provide original records for eight species previously unknown to the continent and, as original taxonomic acts, we provide three new synonyms, we consider two names as nomina nuda, ten names as nomina dubia, three as species inquirenda, synonymize three species and exclude 40 species from the previous checklist. Around a hundred other taxonomic changes and clarifications are also included and discussed. The present work revises the total number of genera for IUCN Europe to 77 and the total number of species to 2,138. In addition to specifying the taxonomic changes necessary to update the forthcoming Red List of European bees, we discuss the sampling and taxonomic biases that characterise research on the European bee fauna and highlight the growing importance of range expansions and species invasions.

DNA barcoding confirms the validity of Anthidium melanopygum Friese, 1917 stat. nov. (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) as a distinct species of Western Asia.

Heinrich Friese described Anthidium spiniventris [sic] from Palestine in 1899, and A. melanopygum as a variety of it from Turkey in 1917. While A. melanopygum was subsequently recognized as a subspecies of A. spiniventre, a morphological examination of new material of both taxa suggests that these taxa represent distinct species. This was also confirmed by genetic barcoding of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene, which revealed the two taxa form distinct clades with an average genetic distance of 5.69%, while the genetic within-group distance of these two taxa was only 0.14% for A. melanopygum and 0% for A. spiniventre. Anthidium melanopygum has a wide distribution that extends from Greece and Bulgaria in the west across Turkey and Iran to Turkmenistan in the east. By contrast, A. spiniventre has a restricted, disjunct distribution with isolated populations in the southern Levant and Iran.

Revision and description of three new species of the Palaearctic subgenus Gulanthidium of the wool carder bee genus Anthidium (Apoidea: Megachilidae: Anthidiini).

The subgenus Anthidium (Gulanthidium) is a species-poor group of similar species, which is distributed across the West Palaearctic, from Morocco in the west to central Asia in the east. Due to some incorrect species determinations in the literature, the taxonomic situation remains to be fully understood. The situation is reviewed with reference to a rich, still unpublished resource of material from throughout the range. Anthidium flavissimum sp. nov. is described from Afghanistan, A. preoccipitale sp. nov. from Iran, and A. occidentale sp. nov. from Morocco, based on a combination of colour, structural traits, genital morphology, and morphometry. The subgenus as treated here now comprises six species for which a key is presented. Some of the species are sympatric. Species of the subgenus Gulanthidium are very close to A. (Proanthidium) and it should be further examined as to whether these two subgenera should be better combined in a single subgenus.

The bees of Lebanon (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila).

The study of wild bees has markedly increased in recent years due to their importance as pollinators of crops and wild plants, and this interest has been accentuated by increasing evidence of global declines in their abundance and species richness. Though best studied in Europe and North America, knowledge on the current state of wild bees is scarce in regions where they are particularly diversified, such as the Mediterranean basin. The eastern Mediterranean country of Lebanon, located at the heart of the Levant in a biodiversity hotspot, is particularly poorly studied. The aim of this paper is to produce a first annotated checklist of the wild bees of Lebanon from new and museum collections, literature records, and verified occurrences from online databases. The present list totals 573 species for Lebanon of which 289 are reported for the first time, but the estimated diversity is likely to be closer to 700. Preliminary information on local distributions and flower records are also presented. The local species assemblages indicate affinities with montane habitats of the Mediterranean and Anatolia and the semi-arid habitats of the Levant and north Africa. This study also encourages further research on local wild bee faunas and the use of this knowledge for conservation purposes.

The wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Morocco.

Morocco is a well known hot-spot of biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin. While some taxa like vascular plants are relatively well recorded, important groups of pollinators like bees are still understudied. This article presents an updated checklist of the bee species of Morocco and includes a summary of global and regional distribution of each species. A total of 961 species belonging to six bee families and 68 genera are recorded: Andrenidae (8 genera, 217 species); Apidae (15 genera, 241 species); Colletidae (2 genera, 74 species), Halictidae (12 genera, 144 species), Megachilidae (28 genera, 271 species) and Melittidae (3 genera, 14 species). Among them, 67 species are recorded for the first time in Morocco. Around 70% of the bee fauna of Morocco consists of widespread Palaearctic species. Only 18% of Moroccan species recorded are restricted to North Africa and 8% are Moroccan single-country endemics (81 species). Afrotropical elements in the Moroccan fauna are few, with only 3% of Morocco species co-occuring in that region. This checklist is intended to stimulate new regional research on bees including their taxonomy and biogeography. As many groups of bees have been understudied, discovery of new species for science and new records for the country can be expected. Additional research including inventorying, monitoring, and integrative taxonomic studies are needed to develop a comprehensive strategy for bee conservation in Morocco.

Bees of the genus Anthidium Fabricius, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae: Anthidiini) from China.

The Chinese bees of the genus Anthidium Fabricius, 1804, are reviewed. Twenty-one species are confirmed to occur in China, five of which are described and illustrated as new Chinese endemics: Anthidium (Anthidium) pseudomontanum Niu Zhu, sp. nov., A. (A.) pseudophilorum Niu Zhu, sp. nov., A. (A.) tasitiense Niu Zhu, sp. nov., A. (A.) xuezhongi Niu Zhu, sp. nov., and A. (Proanthidium) qingtaoi Niu Zhu, sp. nov.. The previously unknown female of A. (A.) kashmirense Mavromoustakis, 1937 and male of A. (P.) kashgarense (Cockerell, 1911) are described for the first time. Anthidium (A.) furcatum Wu, 2004 (junior primary homonym, nec Anthidium furcatum Ducke, 1908) is replaced with its valid and available synonym A. (A.) striatum Wu, 2004. New synonymies are also established for A. (A.) kashmirense Mavromoustakis, 1937 = A. (A.) nigroventrale Wu, 1982, syn. nov., and A. (A.) florentinum (Fabricius, 1775) = A. (A.) helianthinum Wu, 2004, syn. nov. The non-Chinese Anthidium amabile Alfken, 1933 (junior primary homonym, nec Anthidium porterae var. amabile Cockerell, 1904) is unavailable and the available name Anthidium (Proanthidium) minimum Pasteels, 1969, is valid for this species. Updated synonymies and distributional data are provided for some widespread Palaearctic species including two now adventive in the New World. For Chinese species, the distribution and floral associations of each are provided along with illustrations and a key to the known species.

Revision of the Palaearctic Trachusa interrupta species complex (Apoidea: Anthidiini) with description of four new species.

Trachusa interrupta (Fabricius, 1781) s.l. has so far been regarded as a widespread resin bee in the tribe Anthidiini, whose range extends from northwest Africa and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to Central Asia and China in the east. It was thought that the pattern of yellow maculations on head, meso- and metasoma was quite variable. Several forms which were described since the 18th century have been regarded as synonyms. A comprehensive analysis of hundreds of specimens from all parts of its distribution found that T. interrupta s. l. actually represents a complex of closely related species. The study which included the examination of type material and the analyses of morphometric data of 15 measurements of the head, antennae and wings through multivariate statistical methods showed that there was relatively little variation in the colour pattern. Different colour patterns mostly represent different taxa which form distinctive clusters in Discriminant Function Analysis of morphometric data. The complex hereby consists of three widespread species, Trachusa interrupta (Fabricius, 1781) s.str., T. integra (Eversmann, 1852) stat. resurr., and T. anatolica sp. n., whose combined range extends from the Western Mediterranean to Central Asia and China, and five further species with restricted ranges in the southern part of the overall distribution: T. varia (Olivier, 1789) stat. resurr. and T. maghrebensis sp. n. in Spain and north-western Africa, and T. heinzi Dubitzky, 2007, T. grandicornis sp. n., and T. taurica sp. n. in Turkey and Iran. Additionally, some populations mainly of T. interrupta s. str. show in the southern part of its distribution (e.g. Spain, Italy, Greece) distinctive features in the colour pattern or morphological traits such as antennal length. As these characters are widely overlapping between populations and seem to follow geographic clines, these differences do not seem to reflect taxonomically relevant units. It was thought that they represent populations with reduced but still not ceased reproductive isolation and hence species in statu nascendi. All species of the T. interrupta complex as here defined have clearly delineated distributional areas. There is a little overlap in the distribution areas of the species and even the two most widespread species, T. interrupta s. str. and T. integra, which both occur widely in the West Palaearctic show mutually exclusive patchy distribution patterns, i.e. the two species normally do not occur in the same region. Nevertheless, a few cases were found where two species occur in sympatry, and a few cases (less than 1% of all specimens) where specimens had characters of two species. The latter may indicate that hybridisation occasionally occurs in parapatric contact zones.

Taxonomic revision proves Trachusa pubescens (Morawitz, 1872) sensu lato to be a complex of allopatric and sympatric species in South-Eastern Europe and Western Asia (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Anthidiini).

Trachusa pubescens (Morawitz, 1872) s. l. has a distribution extending from south-eastern Europe over Anatolia and the Caucasus to Iran and Turkmenistan, and was formerly regarded as a species with high intraspecific variation. By means of an examination of 208 specimens from all parts of the distribution area, covering structural features of the head (mandibles, clypeus), the apical terga and the genitalia, the colouration pattern as well as a morphometric analysis of 26 body measurements with multivariate statistical methods (Principal Component Analysis, Discriminant Analysis), it was possible to assign the material to five species of which two are new to science (Trachusa balcanicasp. n. and T. hakkariensissp. n.). Two taxa which had previously been described as "variations" or subspecies are elevated to species rank: T. verhoeffi (Mavromoustakis, 1955), stat. n. and T. maxima (Friese, 1931), stat. n. Additionally, some populations can be distinguished by their colouration pattern or by subtle differences in size or body shape, but these features are apparently of no taxonomic significance at the species level. Trachusa balcanica sp. n. and T. verhoeffi have distribution areas which do not overlap with any of the other members of the species group and can thus be characterised as allospecies. By contrast, the distribution areas of the other three species, T. pubescens, T. maxima and T. hakkariensis sp. n., overlap to a certain extent and they co-exist at least to some degree in sympatry. While they have been found in the same region, they have so far never been found together at exactly the same location and it is suggested that species divergence occurred in parallel with ecological differentiation. Niche partitioning such as flower preferences is a mechanism which may be invoked to explain this. Some specimens with intermediate characters were found, particularly in contact zones, and it is thought that some hybridisation may occur. A partly melanistic individual of T. balcanicasp. n. was found, which is probably the first described melanistic individual in the tribe Anthidiini.

A new species of Trachusa Panzer, 1804 (Megachilidae: Anthidiini) from southern Africa, with notes on the subgeneric classification and a key to the Afrotropical species.

Only a single species of the genus Trachusa Panzer, 1804 is currenlty known from southern Africa: Trachusa aquiphila (Strand, 1912). A second species is described here from Namibia: Trachusa namibiensis sp. n., with habitus similar to T. aquiphila, but distinguished by morphological characters and colour features. The new species combines features of the subgenera Trachusa (Paraanthidium Friese) and Trachusa (Massanthidium Pasteels), therefore the latter is here regarded as a junior synonym of Paraanthidium, and all three species which have been assigned to subgenus Massanthidium are here transferred to Trachusa (Paraanthidium). Trachusa (Paraanthidium) and Trachusa (Congotrachusa) are now the only subgenera occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Trachusa namibiensis sp. n. seems not to be rare and was found sympatrically with T. aquiphila. It is polylectic and was found on the wing in autumn (March).

Coronal tibiofemoral subluxation is not an independent risk factor for total knee arthroplasty in patients with moderate to severe varus-osteoarthritis: data from the "Osteoarthritis Initiative".

PURPOSE: Only few prognostic factors for progression of knee osteoarthritis are well established, including varus malalignment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether coronal tibiofemoral subluxation is a predictor for total knee arthroplasty. METHODS: Patients from the progression subcohort of the longitudinal database "Osteoarthritis Initiative" with moderate to severe osteoarthritis and varus malalignment of greater than 3 degrees were included. Patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty were matched with patients treated conservatively. Subluxation was measured on full limb length X-rays. Cox regression analysis was performed to retrospectively evaluate subluxation as a risk factor for total knee arthroplasty and check for a possible association between subluxation and pain at the beginning of the observation period in this study. RESULTS: A total of 215 patients were included. Cox regression demonstrated that varus malalignment increased the hazard to undergo surgery by 16% (HR 1.158, p = 0.008) while subluxation did not (HR 1.12, p = 0.11). Furthermore, subluxation was neither associated with poor WOMAC (OR 1.13, p = 0.194) nor KOOS (OR 1.11, p = 0.256) knee pain scores at the beginning of the observation period. CONCLUSION: The results presented show that subluxation is neither an independent risk factor for total knee arthroplasty, nor for poor pain scores. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.