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Publications (80)
The leafcutting bees of the leachella group of Megachile Latreille subgenus Eutricharaea Thomson are revised for the Western Palaearctic region using a combination of morphology and phylogenetic analyses of three genes (COI, LW-Rhodopsin, CAD). Although only seven species are recognized, much effort was needed to link delimitated taxonomic units to...
A problem to implement conservation strategies is that in many cases recognized taxa are in fact complexes of several cryptic species. Failure to properly delineate species may lead to misplaced priorities or to inadequate conservation measures. One such species complex is the yellow-spotted ringlet Erebia manto, which comprises several phenotypica...
The bee genus Andrena is both species-rich and taxonomically challenging due to inter- and intra-specific variation, particularly for bivoltine taxa. One such case involves the subgenus Hoplandrena. Two species within this subgenus are widespread across the West Palaearctic, one of which is bivoltine and the other usually univoltine. The two specie...
Two nests of Celonites jousseaumei are described in detail from the Antiatlas in Morocco. The nests consisted of two or three linearly arranged earthen brood cells that were attached to the almost vertical surface of medium sized stones. The brood cell provisions consisted exclusively of Heliotropium pollen (Boraginaceae). Species affiliation of de...
The factors leading to the extraordinary diversity of the bees of the genus Andrena Fabricius, the second most speciose genus among bees, remain largely unknown. To examine the pattern of diversification in this genus, we investigate species boundaries within the controversial Andrena proxima‐complex using a dataset of ultra‐conserved elements and...
Using a combination of DNA barcodes and morphology, we examine species boundaries in bees of the genus Andrena subgenus Taeniandrena in Europe. First, we solve the long controversy surrounding the status of Andrena ovatula (Kirby, 1802) and A. albofasciata Thomson, 1870, proposed to represent distinct species nearly 100 years ago, but mostly treate...
The Palaearctic complex of anthidiine bees closely related to Pseudoanthidium scapulare has long been a source of unresolved taxonomic and systematic issues. Until now, the number of species in the complex and their geographical distributions were largely unclear, thus complicating the compilation of accurate species checklists and hindering conser...
The subgenus Eutricharaea Thomson of the genus Megachile Latreille (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Egypt is revised. Fifteen species are recognized, of which two are new: Megachile laniventris Praz sp. nov. and M. rufomandibularis Praz sp. nov. In addition, three unclear taxa known from few specimens in one sex are documented to facilitate future wo...
Iberia has one of the richest bee faunas in the world, and the genus Andrena is no exception with around 200 species known from the Peninsula. The fauna of Andrena was largely revised in the 1970s, but since then, it has received little attention. Molecular investigation of the taxonomically challenging subgenus Taeniandrena has revealed that the s...
Bumble bees (Bombus) are a group of eusocial bees with a strongly generalised feeding pattern, collecting pollen from many different botanical families. Though predominantly generalists, some bumble bee species seem to have restricted dietary choices. It is unclear whether restricted diets in bumble bees are inherent or a function of local conditio...
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...
Accurate and testable species hypotheses are essential for measuring, surveying and managing biodiversity. Taxonomists often rely on mitochondrial DNA barcoding to complement morphological species delimitations. Although COI-barcoding has largely proven successful in assisting identifications for most animal taxa, there are nevertheless numerous ca...
While the presence of secondary compounds in floral nectar has received considerable attention, much less is known about the ecological significance and evolutionary origin of secondary ‘toxic’ compounds in pollen. It is unclear whether the presence of these compounds in pollen is non‐adaptive and due to physiological ‘spillover’ from other floral...
Within the sampling program undertaken for the actualization of the Red List of the Swiss wildbees, one queen of Bombus distinguendus Morawitz, 1869 (Apoidea: Apidae) has been caught with a hybrid interception trap around Trélex (VD). Following this capture, two days of search have been done in August in the Jura between Trélex and the Joux Valley....
Osmia (Melanosmia) nigriventris (Zetterstedt) is a predominantly boreoalpine megachilid bee species, whose biology is poorly known due to its pronounced rarity all over Central Europe. The discovery of 19 nests in the Grisons and Valais (Switzerland) allowed for the investigation of its nesting biology and prompted the assessment of the species' ho...
Implementing cost‐effective monitoring programs for wild bees remains challenging due to the high costs of sampling and specimen identification. To reduce costs, next generation sequencing (NGS)‐based methods have lately been suggested as alternatives to morphology‐based identifications. To provide a comprehensive presentation of the advantages and...
We revise the Alpine bee taxa related to Andrenabicolor (Fabricius, 1775), including A.montana Warncke, 1973 and A.allosa Warncke, 1975, the status of which has remained contentious. Phylogenetic analyses of one mitochondrial gene and one nuclear gene, as well as morphological examination reveal the presence of four Alpine species in this complex,...
Butterfly monitoring and Red List programs in Switzerland rely on a combination of observations and collection records to document changes in species distributions through time. While most butterflies can be identified using morphology, some taxa remain challenging, making it difficult to accurately map their distributions and develop appropriate c...
Neighbor joining (NJ) tree based on DNA barcodes for all specimens sequenced for this study.
(PDF)
Melitaea athalia and M. nevadensis form reciprocally monophyletic barcode clusters.
NJ tree based on DNA barcodes for specimens of Melitaea athalia and M. nevadensis present on BOLD. Specimens sequenced for this study are shown in blue. All specimens are presented with the names they have been given on BOLD, i.e. no names have been updated or other...
Deep mitochondrial divergences in Zygaena filipendulae.
NJ tree based on DNA barcodes for specimens of Zygaena filipendulae present on BOLD. Specimens sequenced for this study are shown in blue. All specimens are presented with the names they have been given on BOLD, i.e. no names have been updated or otherwise modified. Numbers above certain nodes...
Analysis of European DNA barcodes for Erebia pronoe vergy and E. p. psathura.
NJ tree based on DNA barcodes for specimens of Erebia pronoe present on BOLD. Specimens sequenced for this study are shown in blue. All specimens are presented with the names they have been given on BOLD, i.e. no names have been updated or otherwise modified. Numbers abov...
Swiss populations of Kretania trappi are unique compared to Italian populations from the Alto Adige–Sudtirol.
NJ tree based on DNA barcodes for specimens of Kretania trappi present on BOLD. Specimens sequenced for this study are shown in blue. All specimens are presented with the names they have been given on BOLD, i.e. no names have been updated o...
Para- and polyphyly within the Erebia tyndarus complex.
NJ tree based on DNA barcodes for specimens of the Erebia tyndarus complex present on BOLD. Specimens sequenced for this study are shown in blue. All specimens are presented with the names they have been given on BOLD, i.e. no names have been updated or otherwise modified. The DNA barcode cann...
Deep mitochondrial divergences in Thymelicus lineola.
NJ tree based on DNA barcodes for specimens of Thymelicus lineola present on BOLD. Specimens sequenced for this study are shown in blue. All specimens are presented with the names they have been given on BOLD, i.e. no names have been updated or otherwise modified. Numbers above certain nodes rep...
Specimen list.
Complete list of 868 specimens sequenced for this study, including collection information, unique specimen identifiers, associated CO1 sequences with BOLD process ID numbers and specimen deposition information.
(XLSX)
Reference species list.
Two-hundred twenty-four species were considered as Swiss residents for the purposes of this study. All changes from the Swiss Red List (Wermeille et al. 2014) have been noted. Species for which no sequences were obtained are marked in red.
(XLSX)
Lycaena tityrus tityrus and L. t. subalpina form reciprocally monophyletic barcode clusters.
NJ tree based on DNA barcodes for specimens of Lycaena tityrus present on BOLD. Specimens sequenced for this study are shown in blue. All specimens are presented with the names they have been given on BOLD, i.e. no names have been updated or otherwise modif...
Para- and polyphyly within the Pyrgus alveus complex.
NJ tree based on DNA barcodes for specimens of the Pyrgus alveus complex present on BOLD. Specimens sequenced for this study are shown in blue. All specimens are presented with the names they have been given on BOLD, i.e. no names have been updated or otherwise modified. The DNA barcode cannot d...
Swiss populations of Melitaea deione are unique in the western Palaearctic.
NJ tree based on DNA barcodes for specimens of Melitaea deione present on BOLD. Specimens sequenced for this study, representing the Swiss subspecies M. d. berisalii, are shown in blue. Numbers above certain nodes represent NJ bootstrap values above 50% based on 100 bootstr...
The subgenus Pseudomegachile Friese of the large genus Megachile Latreille is revised for the Western Palaearctic region, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula. Twenty species are recognized, of which five are new: Megachile blepharis Dorchin & Praz from Israel, M. plumigera Dorchin & Praz from Oman and the United Arab Emirates, M. syriaca Dorchin & Praz...
Wainia , a species-poor genus of osmiine bees, contains two Palaearctic species, whose biologies are unknown. In the present publication, we describe the nesting site and nest architecture of W.sexsignata and analyse the pollen host spectra of W.sexsignata and W.eremoplana by microscopical analysis of larval faeces and female scopal contents. W.sex...
The pollen of many plants contains toxic secondary compounds, sometimes in concentrations higher than those found in the flowers or leaves. The ecological significance of these compounds remains unclear, and their impact on bees is largely unexplored. Here, we studied the impact of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) found in the pollen ofEchium vulgareo...
This volume of Fauna Helvetica provides identification keys and distribution maps of the Swiss bee species of the genera Apis and Bombus.
This volume of Fauna Helvetica provides identification keys and distribution maps of the Swiss bee species of the genera Apis and Bombus.
We examine the genetics, morphology and ecology of the widely distributed Megachile concinna species complex (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), which is composed of numerous taxa of unclear taxonomic status in Africa and the Palearctic. In the Western Palearctic, three genetically distinct operational taxonomic units (OTUs) are found around the Mediterra...
Fideliine bees are an archaic group with a disjunct distribution mostly restricted to deserts of South America and South Africa. This group was previously thought to be more diverse in Africa than in South America, where only one genus (Neofidelia) comprising five species is known. Here we describe a species belonging to a second South American gen...
The moss carder bee (Bombus muscorum) was discovered in two sites of the Grande Cariçaie nature reserve south of Lake Neuchâtel. This threatened bumblebee at the European level is known from the wetlands of the north-east of Switzerland, but had not been observed in Western Switzerland for 60 years. The study of pollen preference of this species in...
A new identification key is presented for the western Palearctic subgenera of the bee genus Megachile. In addition, the species composition of each subgenus is discussed, and for large subgenera, species groups are delineated to facilitate future taxonomic treatment. The nesting biology and floral associations of each subgenus are briefly reviewed....
The purpose of this study is to describe the mature larvae of all taxa of the tribe Osmiini (Megachilidae) whose postdefecating larvae have been collected and are available. The hope is that data uncovered will eventually lead to a better understanding of the interrelationships of included taxa and of their anatomies, behaviors, and ecologies (i.e....
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in honey can be a potential human health risk. So far, it has remained unclear whether PAs in honey originate from pollen or floral nectar. We obtained honey, nectar and plant pollen from two observation sites where Echium vulgare L. was naturally abundant. The PA concentration of honey was determined by targeted analy...
As increasingly large molecular data sets are collected for phylogenomics, the conflicting phylogenetic signal among gene trees poses challenges to resolve some difficult nodes of the Tree of Life. Among these nodes, the phylogenetic position of the honeybees (Apini) within the corbiculate bee group remains controversial, despite its considerable i...
Herein we present information on the nesting behavior of Ochreriades fasciatus (Friese) found occupying beetle galleries in dead trunks and branches of certain trees and shrubs in israel. We also describe the pre-and postdefecating larvae thereby making known the mature larva for this uncommon Old World genus. Females of O. fasciatus build linear n...
35 wissenschaftliche Institutionen (Universitäten und ETH, Forschungsanstalten und Fachhochschulen, Datenzentren zur Schweizer Flora und Fauna, Naturmuseen, Botanische Gärten und Zoos) unter der Federführung des Forum Biodiversität Schweiz legen mit diesem Bericht die Zahlen zum Zustand der Biodiversität in 2014 in der Schweiz vor.
Die Analyse der...
We address the phylogenetic position of the bee genera Tarsalia and Ancyla (currently forming the tribe Ancylaini) on the basis of morphological, molecular and combined data. We assembled a matrix of 309 morphological characters and 5246 aligned nucleotide position from six nuclear genes (28S, EF-1a, wingless, POL2, LW-Rhodopsin, NAK). In addition...
Herein we describe the nests (including structure, closure, orientation, and depth of cells) of the bee Haetosmia vechti Peters found nesting in Rehovot, Israel. The nesting biology of H. vechti mirrors the ancestral nesting biology within the Osmia group of the Osmiini. Nests in sandy soil consist of an excavated burrow, ending below in a small cl...
We combine multivariate ratio analysis (MRA) of body measurements and analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear data to examine the status of several species of European paper wasps (Polistes Latreille, 1802) closely related to P. gallicus. Our analyses unambiguously reveal the presence of a cryptic species in Europe, as two distinct species can be rec...
Overall, 9.2% of bees are considered threatened in all of Europe, while at the EU 27 level, 9.1% are threatened with extinction. A further 5.2% and 5.4% of bees are considered Near Threatened in Europe and the EU 27, respectively (101 species at both levels). However, for 1,101 species (56.7%) in Europe and 1,048 species (55.6%) at the EU 27, there...
The evolution of parasitic behavior may catalyze the exploitation of new ecological niches yet also binds the fate of a parasite to that of its host. It is thus not clear whether evolutionary transitions from free-living organism to parasite lead to increased or decreased rates of diversification. We explore the evolution of brood parasitism in lon...
Our understanding of bee phylogeny has improved over the past fifteen years as a result of new data, primarily nucleotide sequence data, and new methods, primarily model-based methods of phylogeny reconstruction. Phylogenetic studies based on single or, more commonly, multilocus data sets have helped resolve the placement of bees within the superfa...
Phylogenetic relationships within the bee family Megachilidae are poorly understood. The monophyly of the subfamily Fideliinae is questionable, the relationships among the tribes and subtribes in the subfamily Megachilinae are unknown, and some extant genera cannot be placed with certainty at the tribal level. Using a cladistic analysis of adult ex...
Stark contrasts in clade species diversity are reported across the tree of life and are especially conspicuous when observed in closely related lineages. The explanation for such disparity has often been attributed to the evolution of key innovations that facilitate colonization of new ecological niches. The factors underlying diversification in be...
In groves of ectomycorrhizal caesalpiniaceous species in the Atlantic coastal forest of Central Africa the dominant tree Microberlinia bisulcata, which is shade-intolerant as a seedling but highly light-responding as a sapling, shows very limited regeneration. M. bisulcata saplings were mapped in an 82.5-ha plot at Korup and found to be located sig...
In groves of ectomycorrhizal caesalpiniaceous species in the Atlantic coastal forest of Central Africa the dominant tree Microberlinia bisulcata, which is shade-intolerant as a seedling but highly light-responding as a sapling, shows very limited regeneration. M. bisulcata saplings were mapped in an 82.5-ha plot at Korup and found to be located sig...
Herein we describe the nests (including construction, closure, orientation, and depth of cells) of the bee Osmia (Ozbekosmia) avosetta Warncke found nesting near Antalya, Turkey, and Sepidan, Iran. Cells are unusual in that they are lined by two layers of colorful flower petals that sandwich a thin middle layer of mud. Analyses of pollen taken from...
