Osmia (Hoplosmia) dido Gribodo 1894

Müller, Andreas, 2018, Palaearctic Osmia bees of the subgenus Hoplosmia (Megachilidae, Osmiini): biology, taxonomy and key to species, Zootaxa 4415 (2), pp. 297-329 : 315

Osmia (Hoplosmia) dido Gribodo 1894

Osmia dido Gribodo 1894: 289 . Type material: Holotype ♀, “ Algeria ” ( Algeria), Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Genova. Osmia abbreviata Pérez 1895: 13 . Nomen praeoccupatum (not Osmia abbreviata Morawitz 1875 ). Type material: Lectotype ♀, by designation of Tkalců (1974a), “ Algéria ” ( Algeria), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle Paris.

Osmia compacta Pérez 1896 : not paginated single page appendix to Pérez (1895). Nomen novum with same type specimen for preoccupied Osmia abbreviata Pérez 1895 (not Osmia abbreviata Morawitz 1875 ). Synonymy in Zanden (1990).

Literature records. ALGERIA: Algiers (Alfken 1914); Oran /Ain Zaatout/ Ouréz mountains , Bouira , Tipasa ( Tkalců 1974a). TUNISIA : Tunis ( Tkalců 1974a).

New records. MOROCCO: Fès-Meknès: 15 km SE Sefrou, 26– 27.5.1995 (leg. M. Halada); Bhalil, 10 km NW Sefrou, 28.5.1995 (leg. M. Halada); SW of Sefrou, 16.5.2003 (leg. M. Halada). ALGERIA: Biskra: El Kantara, 17.5.2008 (leg. S. Aguib). TUNISIA: Bizerta: Ghar El Melh E Bizerta, 26.5.1999 (leg. O. Niehuis); Zaghouan: 30 km SE Zaghouan, 19.4.1981 (leg. M. Schwarz); Kef: 5 km N El Kef, 22.6.1994 (leg. M. Hauser); Sfax: 30 km SW Sfax, 18.4.1981 (leg. M. Schwarz).

Distribution. Maghreb ( Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia).

Pollen hosts. Probably oligolectic on Asteraceae (based on eight pollen samples from two different localities in Morocco). As all pollen loads analysed were either pure loads of Centaurea (n = 6) or contained pollen of both Centaurea and thistles (n = 2), O. dido is likely a specialist of Carduoideae. Flower record: Centaurea nicaeensis (label record).

Nesting biology. Unknown.