Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle «Grigore Antipa» Vol. 58 (1–2) pp. 37–46 DOI: 10.1515/travmu-2016-0002 Research paper The Catalogue of Romanian Sphecidae (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Sphecidae) from the Collection of “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History (Bucharest) Alexandra Florina LEVĂRDĂ*, Ioana MATACHE “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History, Kiseleff 1, 011341 Bucharest, Romania *corresponding author, e–mail: [email protected] Received: June 9, 2015; Accepted: November 3, 2015; Available online: April 20, 2016; Printed: April 25, 2016 Abstract. This catalogue presents data on 15 Romanian sphecid wasp species (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Sphecidae) preserved in the Hymenoptera Collection of “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History, Bucharest. The collecting data, general distribution, distribution in Romania and some ecological aspects are provided for each species. Key words: catalogue, Sphecidae, museum collection, Romania. INTRODUCTION The Hymenoptera Collection of “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History currently consists of roughly 85,000 specimens. Approximately 82,000 of them are collected from Romania and about 3000 specimens are collected from various other countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. The material collected from Romania belongs to 2319 species, grouped in 44 families. Among these, the material from Sphecidae family includes only 217 species collected from all regions of the country. In traditional classification, all sphecid wasps belonged to a single family, Sphecidae (Latreille, 1802). In 2014, Shayestehfar demonstrated the paraphyly of this group. Phylogenetic studies (Brothers, 1999; Melo, 1999) revealed that the former Sphecidae family (sensu lato) should be divided into four families: Heterogynaidae, Ampulicidae, Crabronidae and Sphecidae (sensu stricto). Around 9750 species of sphecid wasps are known in the world, of which the Sphecidae family (sensu stricto) is represented by only 736 species, grouped in 19 genera (Pulawski, 2015). The members of Sphecidae family have a diverse ecology and behaviour. These wasps are solitary, with a worldwide distribution and a high density in arid and semi–arid regions. Members of this family are active during the summer months, preferring warm and dry habitats (Shayestehfar, 2014). The nest is made in the ground or in pre–existing cracks in the soil (e.g. Ammophila, Sphex, Chalybion) or built from mud (e.g. Sceliphron). The adults feed on nectar and pollen and use animal prey for their progeny. The sphecids hunt various insects or spiders, using them for laying eggs and larvae development: the prey is stung, immobilized and brought to the nest (Shayestehfar, 2014). In Romania, there are only twenty species belonging to Sphecidae family (sensu stricto), grouped in seven genera. To these twenty species, we can add Sceliphron cementarium (Drury, 1770) and S. curvatum (Smith, 1870), two alien species recently found in Romania by Gagiu (2012) and Popescu (2014). 38 Alexandra Florina LEVĂRDĂ, Ioana MATACHE In the present paper, we focused on the Sphecidae (sensu stricto) material collected from Romania, preserved in the entomological collection of the „Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History. This material consists of 318 specimens, belonging to 15 species, grouped in seven genera and three subfamilies – Ammophilinae, Sphecinae and Sceliphrinae. MATERIAL AND METHODS The material was collected between 1932 and 1995, from 92 collecting points in 31 counties, covering almost the entire country (Fig. 1). Amongst the 318 analyzed specimens, we found two misidentified ones. All the material presented below was identified/revised by the authors. For the elaboration of the present catalogue, the species’ identification was checked and the species name, sex and locality of the collecting points were verified and updated. For each specimen, we specified the species name, author, number of individuals, sex, locality, county, collecting date and the name of the collector (legit). For each species, we made some observations regarding its general and Romanian distribution. The nomenclature and systematics were updated following Pulawski’s classification (2015). The genera and species are listed alphabetically within the Sphecidae family. For species’ identification we used the keys from Berland (1925) and Dollfuss (2010, 2013). Abbreviations of collectors’ name: Brădescu Vladimir – B.V., Drăghia Ion – D.I., Dumitrescu Elena – D.E., Găldean Nicolae – G.N., Iuga Raica Victoria – I.R.V., Lepşi Iosif – L.I. Manoleli Dan – M.D., Nagy Carol – N.C., Negoescu Ileana Fig. 1 – The collecting localities of Sphecidae in Romania Romanian Sphecidae from the Collection of “Grigore Antipa” Museum 39 – N.I., Negru Ştefan – N.Ş., Palade–Scobiola Xenia – P.S.X., Pîrvescu D. – P.D, Popescu Aurelian – P.A., Roşca Atena – R.A., Săvulescu Nicolae – S.N., Sienkiewicz Igor – S.I., Spineanu – S., Tălpeanu Matei – T.M., Weinberg Medeea – W.M., Worell Eugen – W.E. Abbreviations of the county names: Argeş – AG, Bacău – BC, Bihor – BH, Brăila – BR, Braşov – BV, Buzău – BZ, Călăraşi – CL, Caraş Severin – CS, Cluj – CJ, Constanţa – CT, Dâmboviţa – DB, Dolj – DJ, Galaţi – GL, Giurgiu – GR, Gorj – GJ, Harghita – HR, Hunedoara – HD. Ialomiţa – IL, Iaşi – IS, lfov – IF, Mehedinţi – MH, Mureş – MS, Neamţ – NT, Olt – OT, Prahova – PH, Sibiu – SB, Suceava – SV, Teleorman – TR, Tulcea – TL, I, Vâlcea – VL, Vrancea – VN. RESULTS Superfamily Apoidea Family Sphecidae Latreille, 1802 Subfamily Ammophilinae André, 1886 Genus Ammophila W. Kirby, 1798 Ammophila campestris Latreille, 1809 Examined material: 1 ♀, Guşteriţa (SB), 30.IX.1940, W.E.; 1 ♂, Guşteriţa (SB), 07.VI.1943, W.E.; 1 ♂, Guşteriţa (SB), 13.VI.1945, W.E.; 1 ♂, Guşteriţa (SB), W.E., without collecting date; 1 ♀, Guşteriţa (SB), W.E., without collecting date. Distribution and ecology: the species is present throughout the Palearctic region (Pagliano & Negrisolo, 2005). In Romania, it was cited from Transylvania (Scobiola, 1960) and Crişana (Mocsáry, 1897, 1900). Flight period is between June and October and the species is found up to 2000 – 2300 m a.s.l. (Scobiola, 1960). Ammophila campestris adults prefer flowers of Solidago, Daucus, Ononis, Eryngium and Rubus (Bitsch et al., 1997). Ammophila heydeni Dahlbom, 1845 Examined material: 1 ♂, Guşteriţa (SB), 26.VIII.1940, W.E.; 2 ♂♂, Guşteriţa (SB), W.E., without collecting date; 1 ♂, Guşteriţa (SB), 30.IX.1940, W.E.; 1 ♂, Valu lui Traian (CT), 19.X.1953, without collector; 1 ♂, Agigea Lake (CT), 25.VIII.1954, P.S.X.; 1 ♂, Agigea natural reserve (CT), 25.VII.1954, P.S.X.; 1 ♂, Valu lui Traian – northern slope (CT), 11.X.1956, P.S.X.; 1 ♂, Eforie (CT), VIII.1957, P.S.X. (misidentified as female); 1 ♂, Cluj–Napoca (CJ), 04.VII.1963, N.C.; 1 ♂, Agigea (CT), 23.VI.1964, B.V.; 1 ♂, Babadag (TL), 10.IX.1967, P.S.X.; 1 ♂, Niculiţel (TL), 29.VI.1967, P.S.X.; 1 ♂, Ciumaşi (BC), 28.VI.1995, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Ocna Sibiului (SB), 09.IX.1940, W.E.; 1 ♀, Ocna Sibiului (SB), 20.VI.1943, W.E.; 1 ♀, Făurei (BR), 14.VIII.1946, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Budeşti (CL), 16.VI.1947, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Bucovăţ (DJ), 01.VIII.1951, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Păltiniş (SB), 26.VII.1953, W.E.; 1 ♀, Agigea (CT), 21.VIII.1954, without collector; 1 ♀, Valu lui Traian (CT), 30.VIII.1954, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Techirghiol (CT), 27.VIII.1954, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Techirghiol (CT), 13.IX.1956, without collector; 1 ♀, C. A. Rosetti (TL), 04.VII.1963, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Agigea (CT), 30.VIII.1963, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Valu lui Traian (CT), 29.VIII.1963, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Agigea (CT), 2.IX.1963, N.Ş; 1 ♀, Sulina (TL), 22.VII.1964, P.S.X. Distribution and ecology: the species is a Central Asian–Mediterranean element, present across Central Europe, Asia Minor, Central Asia and Northern Africa (Scobiola, 1960). In Romania, it is cited from Transylvania, Banat, Crişana, Dobrogea and Muntenia regions (Mocsáry, 1874, 1897, 1900; Henrich, 1882; Moczár & Henter, 1907; Szilády, 1914; Scobiola–Palade, 1959, Scobiola, 1960). It was found 40 Alexandra Florina LEVĂRDĂ, Ioana MATACHE on Statice sp. flowers (Scobiola–Palade, 1968a), and collected also from Origanum ovigare and Eryngium campestre (Scobiola–Palade, 1972). Ammophila sabulosa Linnaeus, 1758 Examined material: 1 ♂, Guşteriţa (SB), 07.VI.1943, W.E.; 1 ♂, Măgura (SB), 24.VI.1943, W.E.; 1 ♂, Guşteriţa (SB), 16.VI.1948, W.E. (misidentified as female); 1 ♂, Sighişoara (MS), 15.VII.1950, P.S.X.; 3 ♂♂, Guşteriţa (SB), W.E., without collecting date; 1 ♂, Măneciu–Ungureni (PH), 25.VIII.1954, I.R.V.; 1 ♂, Andronache forest – Bucharest, 12.VI.1954, without collector; 2 ♂♂, Moeciu de Jos (BV), 27.VI.1954, S.N.; 1 ♂, Periş (IF), 07.VIII.1954, I.R.V.; 1 ♂, Comana (GR), 13.VIII.1954, P.S.X.; 1 ♂, Comana (GR), 31.V.1956, I.R.V.; 1 ♂, Pasărea forest, Bucharest, 06.VII.1962, P.S.X.; 2 ♂♂, Chilia Veche (TL), 27.VI.1963, P.S.X.; 2 ♂♂, Diac River Valley – 220 m altitude (HR), 21.VIII.1963, P.S.X.; 1 ♂, Victoriei Avenue – Bucharest, 16.VII.1963, N.C.; 1 ♂, Cluj–Napoca (CJ), 16.VI.1963, N.C.; 2 ♂♂, Babadag (TL), 10.IX.1967, P.S.X.; 1 ♂, Drobeta–Turnu Severin (MH), 08.VIII.1969, N.C.; 1 ♀, Sibiu (SB), 02.VI.1938, W.E.; 1 ♀, Ocna Sibiului (SB), 09.IX.1940, W.E.; 1 ♀, Guşteriţa (SB), 07.VI.1943, W.E.; 1 ♀, Măgura (SB), 29.VIII.1945, W.E.; 1 ♀, Retezat Mountains (HD), 11–14.VIII.1946, L.I.; 1 ♀, Goleşti (VN), 12.VIII.1949, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Gemenea (DB), 04.VI.1950, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Răchiţele (AG), 03.VIII.1951, D.E.; 1 ♀, Brănişte (DJ), 31.VIII.1951, D.E.; 1 ♀, Teleajen Valley (PH), 01.VII.1954, I.R.V.; 1 ♀, Pustnicul forest, Bucharest, 27.VI.1954, P.A.; 1 ♀, Budeşti (CL), 28.VI.1955, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Hagieni (CT), 13.VIII.1962, D.I.; 2 ♀♀, Pasărea forest, Bucharest, 06.VII.1962, P.S.X.; 1 ♀, Pustnicul forest, Bucharest, 02.X.1963, B.V.; 1 ♀, Orşova (MH), 07.VIII.1963, N.C.; 1 ♀, Brăneşti (IF), 13.VIII.1963, R.A.