Bees of the Mediterranean basin: biodiversity insights from specimens in the IMBE collection (Marseille, France)

Louhane Schneider; Charlène Lossouarn; Benoît Geslin; Coline Jaworski; Lucie Schurr; Lise Ropars; Claire Bouchot; Marie Zakardjian; Floriane Flacher; Matthieu Aubert; David Genoud; Éric Dufrêne; Vincent Leclercq; Gabriel Nève

doi:10.3897/BDJ.12.e141734

Biodiversity Data Journal : Data Paper (Biosciences)

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Data Paper (Biosciences)

Bees of the Mediterranean basin: biodiversity insights from specimens in the IMBE collection (Marseille, France)

Louhane Schneider^‡, Charlène Lossouarn^‡, Benoît Geslin^{§,‡,|,¶,#,¤}, Coline C. Jaworski^{§,‡,|,¶,#}, Lucie Schurr^§,¶,#,|,«, Lise Ropars^», Claire Bouchot^{§,‡,|,¶,#}, Marie Zakardjian^{§,‡,|,¶,#}, Floriane Flacher^§,|,¶,#, Matthieu Aubert^˄, David Genoud^˅, Éric Dufrêne^˄, Vincent Leclercq^˄, Gabriel Nève^{§,‡,|,¶,#}

‡ Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France

§ IMBE, Marseille, France

| Avignon University, Avignon, France

¶ CNRS, Marseille, France

# IRD, Marseille, France

¤ Rennes University, Rennes, France

« Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France

» MNHN, Paris, France

˄ Observatoire des Abeilles, Flines-lez-Raches, France

˅ Independant researcher, Ambazac, France

Corresponding author: Gabriel Nève (gabriel.neve@imbe.fr)

Academic editor: Bertrand Schatz

Received: 13 Nov 2024 | Accepted: 18 Dec 2024 | Published: 27 Dec 2024

© 2024 Louhane Schneider, Charlène Lossouarn, Benoît Geslin, Coline Jaworski, Lucie Schurr, Lise Ropars, Claire Bouchot, Marie Zakardjian, Floriane Flacher, Matthieu Aubert, David Genoud, Éric Dufrêne, Vincent Leclercq, Gabriel Nève

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Schneider L, Lossouarn C, Geslin B, Jaworski CC, Schurr L, Ropars L, Bouchot C, Zakardjian M, Flacher F, Aubert M, Genoud D, Dufrêne É, Leclercq V, Nève G (2024) Bees of the Mediterranean basin: biodiversity insights from specimens in the IMBE collection (Marseille, France). Biodiversity Data Journal 12: e141734. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.12.e141734

Abstract

Background

The spectacular decline in pollinators and their prominent role in pollination of natural and cultivated plants has stimulated research on pollinating insects. Over the last ten years, much ecological research has been carried out on bees, often generating a large volume of specimens and increasing the importance of entomological collections. Here, we present the bee collection of the IMBE laboratory (Marseille, France) after ten years of study of plant-pollinator networks.

New information

We provide distribution data on 2181 specimens belonging to 246 species of bees, mainly from the Mediterranean Region of France. One of the recorded species, Lasioglossum soror, is classified as "endangered" at the European level, while 68 of the recorded species are currently Data Deficient according to the 2014 Red List of European bees. This dataset contributes to the broader effort to enhance the knowledge of French bee diversity. It aligns with the objectives of the French Pollinator Plan and supports the development of a national Red List. In this context, information about the distribution of wild bees from the Mediterranean Region, which harbours the highest species diversity in mainland France, are of particular importance.

Keywords

Hymenoptera, Apoidea, distribution, France, Andrenidae, Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae, Melittidae

Introduction

Dramatic declines in many pollinator populations have been documented worldwide (Raven and Wagner 2021) raising concerns about the maintenance of their species through time and space and the sustainability of the ecosystem services they provide. In this context, accurate data on pollinator distribution is crucial to document their current status. Amongst these, specimens preserved in natural history collections are reliable pieces of the puzzle that describes ecological communities, habitats and ecosystem health (Raven and Miller 2020). Opening these collections and making them accessible through digitisation and publication is, therefore, of paramount importance for generating science-driven conservation strategies.

Over the past decades, researchers at the Mediterranean Institute of marine and continental Biodiversity and Ecology (IMBE) in Marseille have been investigating relationships between pollinators and plants across a variety of habitats in France, with a focus on the Bouches-du-Rhône Department (Schurr et al. 2019, Ropars et al. 2020a, Ropars et al. 2020b, Schurr et al. 2021, Schurr et al. 2022, Carisio et al. 2022, Jaworski et al. 2022, Badiane et al. 2024). Several projects have been undertaken by the Institute, including field courses on bee identification (Geslin et al. 2018) and field campaigns in the Calanques National Park and the City of Marseille. These campaigns used standardised sampling protocols such as netting, pan-trapping and trap-nesting (insect hotels, Geslin et al. (2020)). This work generated the collection of many specimens that have been kept in the IMBE since 2015. Additionally, some specimens were sent to enrich the collection from some of the renowned professional taxonomists of France (namely M. Aubert, E. Dufrêne and D. Genoud). Each of the specimens collected has been meticulously pinned, labelled and was frozen at least twice a year to avoid the emergence of pests.

This paper aims to publish the raw data of bee specimens currently housed in the IMBE collections. These include specimens collected during studies, as well as those donated to the Institute, with the exception of specimens provided to professional taxonomists, lost, destroyed during preparation or used for DNA sequencing, representing a small fraction of the collection. This dataset serves as a valuable resource for advancing our understanding of the Mediterranean Basin's bee fauna and supports ongoing efforts to develop national checklists and Red Lists.

General description

Purpose:

The dataset presented here includes information on a total of 2,181 bee specimens, collected between 2003 and 2023, all identified to the species level, along with detailed information on the date and location of each capture. This dataset includes some Mediterranean species for which few published records are available in national (inpn.mnhn.fr) and international (www.gbif.org) databases.

Additional information:

The project aims to compile all recorded data on Apoidea, collected during field campaigns and from donations over the past 10 years, as well as opportunistic captures sent by entomologists to the IMBE laboratory. A total of three scientific field campaigns were conducted in the protected area of the Calanques National Park (Geslin et al. 2018, Ropars et al. 2018, Schurr et al. 2019), two in the urban parks of Marseille (Geslin et al. 2020, Badiane et al. 2024), one in humid area (Solère et al. 2022) and three within the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Regional Park (Schurr et al. 2021, Carisio et al. 2022, Schurr et al. 2022). A few additional specimens were gathered elsewhere in France, Spain and Italy and sent to the IMBE.

Project description

Sampling methods

Sampling description:

For each specimen, the following information was retrieved: species, date and location of capture, sex and collector, as well as any relevant ecological data, such as the plant on which the specimen was captured. Specimens were captured with an entomological net or with coloured pan traps. In addition to the data on the original labels, each specimen was assigned a unique identification code written on an added label.

Quality control:

The specimens were identified by Mathieu Aubert, Claire Bouchot, Eric Dufrêne, Benoît Geslin, Vincent Leclercq, Lise Ropars, Lucie Schurr, Erwin Scheuchl, Benoît Martha, Emile Gigandet, Gilles Mahé, Yvan Brugerolles, Gérard Le Goff and Nicolas J. Vereecken. The taxonomy was checked to be compatible with the French TAXREF v.17,0 from the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris) data base (Gargominy et al. 2021) and with the latest checklist of the bees of the French fauna (Ropars et al. in press). In case of name change due to taxonomic update or identification correction, the original name given to the specimen was retained in the 'previousIdentifications' column.

Step description:

All data on the 2181 identified specimens currently in the IMBE collection were input in a table format. Latitude and longitude coordinates of each capture location were obtained either directly from the label or inferred from the location description. In the second case, coordinates were retrieved using the geoportail.gouv.fr website. Coordinates originally in Lambert93 format and in degrees minutes seconds were transformed to standard GPS format (latitude and longitude in decimal degrees). The locations were then verified using the https://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/ website. Coordinates uncertainty (‘coordinateUncertaintyInMeters’ column) was set to at least 100 m, depending on the level of detail provided on the capture location on the specimen label. All formats follow GBIF Darwin Core specification, to ensure interoperability with other international databases.

For 32 specimens, only identification to the genus level was possible. This is indicated by a value of 0 in the ‘identificationVerificationStatus’ column, with relevant additional details provided in the ‘identificationRemarks’ column. Species groups were indicated with ‘gr.’ in the ‘identificationQualifier’ column, such as for the Bombus terrestris species group, which requires genetic data for accurate species-level identification (Murray et al. 2008). ‘cf.’ was used to indicate an approximate identification. This was the case of some Hylaeus specimens which could only be assigned to a couple of species: H. pictipes or H. taeniolatus.

All data were entered in CSV format, with the fields separated by tabs and encoded in UTF-8, thus following the protocol compatible with the GBIF database (Global Biodiversity Information Facility, https://www.gbif.org/fr/) as used in previously published datasets (Meunier et al. 2023, Nève et al. 2024, Ollivier et al. 2024).

Geographic coverage

Description:

Most of the specimens come from France (2178), one is from Spain and two are from Italy.

In France, 93% the data come from the Bouches-du-Rhône Department, with some from Var, Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (Fig. 1; Suppl. material 1).

Figure 1.

Distribution of Anthophila specimens in the IMBE collection. Specimens from the Departments of Yvelines (n = 13), Seine-et-Marne (n = 4), Manche (n = 2) and Essonne (n = 8) are omitted. One specimen from Spain and two from Italy are omitted.

Coordinates:

39.30 and 49.33 Latitude; -1.28 and 9.20 Longitude.

Taxonomic coverage

Description:

The dataset covers 246 species of Apoidea belonging to the six bee families found in France: Andrenidae, Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae and Melittidae (Tables 1, 2).

Table 1.

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Numbers of species and specimens per family in the IMBE Anthophila collection.

Family	Number of species	Number of specimens
Andrenidae	47	301
Apidae	73	649
Colletidae	19	80
Halictidae	44	318
Megachilidae	61	831
Melittidae	2	2
Total	246	2181

Table 2.

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Number of specimens per species in the IMBE Anthophila collection. Nomenclature follows Ropars et al. (in press). European Red List status follows Nieto et al. (2014). DD: Data Deficient, EN: Endangered, LC: Low Concern, NT: Near Threatened. Megachile scupturalis was not assessed in the Red List as it is an introduced species (Le Féon et al. 2018).

Family	Species	European Red List status	Number of specimens
Andrenidae	Andrena agilissima (Scopoli, 1770)	DD	2
Andrenidae	Andrena angustior Kirby, 1802	DD	1
Andrenidae	Andrena bicolor Fabricius, 1775	LC	9
Andrenidae	Andrena bimaculata Kirby, 1802	DD	2
Andrenidae	Andrena chrysosceles (Kirby, 1802)	DD	1
Andrenidae	Andrena cineraria Linnaeus, 1758	LC	2
Andrenidae	Andrena cinerea Brullé, 1832	DD	1
Andrenidae	Andrena combinata (Christ, 1791)	DD	14
Andrenidae	Andrena dorsata (Kirby, 1802)	DD	3
Andrenidae	Andrena fabrella Pérez, 1903	DD	10
Andrenidae	Andrena falsifica Perkins, 1915	DD	1
Andrenidae	Andrena flavipes Panzer, 1799	LC	3
Andrenidae	Andrena fulva (Müller, 1766)	DD	1
Andrenidae	Andrena fuscipes (Kirby, 1802)	DD	2
Andrenidae	Andrena haemorrhoa (Fabricius, 1781)	LC	2
Andrenidae	Andrena hesperia Smith, 1853	LC	17
Andrenidae	Andrena humilis Imhoff, 1832	DD	1
Andrenidae	Andrena labiata Fabricius, 1781	DD	1
Andrenidae	Andrena lagopus Latreille, 1809	LC	10
Andrenidae	Andrena limbata Eversmann, 1852	DD	1
Andrenidae	Andrena marginata Fabricius, 1776	DD	1
Andrenidae	Andrena minutula Kirby, 1802	DD	2
Andrenidae	Andrena morio Brullé, 1832	DD	1
Andrenidae	Andrena nigroaenea Kirby, 1802	LC	58
Andrenidae	Andrena nitida Müller, 1776	LC	1
Andrenidae	Andrena niveata Friese, 1887	DD	28
Andrenidae	Andrena ovatula Kirby, 1802	NT	3
Andrenidae	Andrena pandellei Pérez, 1895	LC	2
Andrenidae	Andrena pilipes Fabricius, 1781	LC	1
Andrenidae	Andrena polita Smith, 1847	LC	1
Andrenidae	Andrena praecox (Scopoli, 1763)	LC	1
Andrenidae	Andrena pusilla Pérez, 1903	DD	2
Andrenidae	Andrena rhenana Stöckhert in Schmiedeknecht, 1930	DD	10
Andrenidae	Andrena rufula Schmiedeknecht, 1883	LC	1
Andrenidae	Andrena senecionis Pérez, 1895	LC	8
Andrenidae	Andrena similis Smith, 1849	DD	19
Andrenidae	Andrena simillima Smith, 1851	LC	1
Andrenidae	Andrena simontornyella Noskiewicz, 1939	LC	1
Andrenidae	Andrena spreta Pérez, 1895	DD	2
Andrenidae	Andrena subopaca Nylander, 1848	LC	1
Andrenidae	Andrena tenuistriata Pérez, 1895	LC	3
Andrenidae	Andrena truncatilabris Morawitz, 1877	DD	1
Andrenidae	Andrena vaga Panzer, 1799	LC	1
Andrenidae	Andrena vetula Lepeletier, 1841	LC	1
Andrenidae	Andrena villipes Pérez, 1895	LC	4
Andrenidae	Andrena vulpecula Kriechbaumer, 1873	DD	33
Andrenidae	Panurgus dentipes Latreille, 1811	LC	30
Apidae	Amegilla albigena (Lepeletier, 1841)	LC	3
Apidae	Amegilla garrula (Rossi, 1790)	LC	1
Apidae	Ammobatoides scriptus (Gerstäcker, 1869)	DD	1
Apidae	Anthophora aestivalis (Panzer, 1801)	LC	5
Apidae	Anthophora affinis Lepeletier, 1841	DD	11
Apidae	Anthophora atriceps Pérez, 1879	DD	1
Apidae	Anthophora bimaculata (Panzer, 1798)	LC	7
Apidae	Anthophora crassipes Lepeletier, 1841	DD	1
Apidae	Anthophora crinipes Smith, 1854	DD	13
Apidae	Anthophora dispar Lepeletier, 1841	LC	64
Apidae	Anthophora femorata (Olivier, 1789)	DD	4
Apidae	Anthophora mucida Gribodo, 1873	DD	8
Apidae	Anthophora plumipes (Pallas, 1772)	LC	73
Apidae	Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758	DD	90
Apidae	Bombus hortorum (Linnaeus, 1761)	LC	2
Apidae	Bombus humilis Illiger, 1806	LC	5
Apidae	Bombus lucorum (Linnaeus, 1761)	LC	6
Apidae	Bombus mastrucatus Gerstäcker, 1869	LC	2
Apidae	Bombus mesomelas Gerstäcker, 1869	LC	5
Apidae	Bombus monticola Smith, 1849	LC	4
Apidae	Bombus pascuorum (Scopoli, 1763)	LC	33
Apidae	Bombus pratorum Linnaeus, 1758	LC	4
Apidae	Bombus ruderarius (Müller, 1776)	LC	2
Apidae	Bombus sichelii Radoszkowski, 1859	LC	1
Apidae	Bombus soroeensis (Fabricius, 1777)	LC	2
Apidae	Bombus sylvarum (Linnaeus, 1761)	LC	2
Apidae	Bombus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758	LC	47
Apidae	Ceratina chalcites Germar, 1839	LC	2
Apidae	Ceratina cucurbitina Rossi, 1792	LC	13
Apidae	Ceratina cyanea (Kirby, 1802)	LC	12
Apidae	Ceratina dallatorreana Friese, 1896	LC	1
Apidae	Ceratina dentiventris Gerstäcker, 1869	LC	4
Apidae	Ceratina gravidula Gerstäcker, 1869	LC	2
Apidae	Ceratina nigrolabiata Friese, 1896	LC	6
Apidae	Epeolus julliani Pérez, 1884	LC	1
Apidae	Eucera caspica Morawitz, 1873	LC	89
Apidae	Eucera clypeata Erichson, 1835	LC	3
Apidae	Eucera hispana Lepeletier, 1841	DD	8
Apidae	Eucera interrupta Baer, 1850	LC	1
Apidae	Eucera longicornis (Linnaeus, 1758)	LC	1
Apidae	Eucera nigrescens Pérez, 1880	LC	4
Apidae	Eucera nigrifacies Lepeletier, 1841	LC	5
Apidae	Eucera nigrilabris Lepeletier, 1841	DD	1
Apidae	Eucera rufa (Lepeletier, 1841)	DD	1
Apidae	Eucera taurica Morawitz, 1871	DD	2
Apidae	Eucera vulpes Brullé, 1832	DD	1
Apidae	Melecta albifrons (Förster, 1771)	LC	1
Apidae	Melecta italica Radoszkowski, 1876	DD	2
Apidae	Nomada beaumonti Schwarz, 1967	LC	3
Apidae	Nomada bluethgeni Stoeckhert, 1943	LC	1
Apidae	Nomada discedens Pérez, 1884	LC	9
Apidae	Nomada discrepans Schmiedeknecht, 1882	LC	2
Apidae	Nomada distinguenda Morawitz, 1873	LC	1
Apidae	Nomada fabriciana (Linnaeus, 1767)	LC	1
Apidae	Nomada facilis Schwarz, 1967	LC	1
Apidae	Nomada femoralis Morawitz, 1869	LC	1
Apidae	Nomada flavoguttata (Kirby, 1802)	LC	11
Apidae	Nomada fulvicornis Fabricius, 1792	LC	1
Apidae	Nomada furvoides Stöckhert, 1944	DD	1
Apidae	Nomada goodeniana (Kirby, 1802)	LC	1
Apidae	Nomada integra Brullé, 1832	LC	3
Apidae	Nomada maculicornis Pérez, 1884	DD	4
Apidae	Nomada marshamella (Kirby, 1802)	LC	1
Apidae	Nomada mocsaryi Schmiedeknecht, 1882	DD	1
Apidae	Nomada panurgina Morawitz, 1868	LC	4
Apidae	Nomada sheppardana (Kirby, 1802)	LC	20
Apidae	Nomada succincta Panzer, 1798	LC	10
Apidae	Tetralonia fulvescens (Giraud, 1863)	DD	1
Apidae	Tetralonia malvae (Rossi, 1790)	LC	1
Apidae	Tetralonia nana Morawitz, 1874	DD	2
Apidae	Tetralonia strigata (Lepeletier, 1841)	DD	1
Apidae	Xylocopa iris (Christ, 1791)	LC	1
Apidae	Xylocopa violacea (Linnaeus, 1758)	LC	10
Colletidae	Colletes albomaculatus (Lucas, 1848)	NT	5
Colletidae	Colletes similis Schenck, 1853	LC	1
Colletidae	Hylaeus angustatus (Schenck, 1859)	LC	1
Colletidae	Hylaeus brachycephalus (Morawitz, 1868)	DD	1
Colletidae	Hylaeus brevicornis Nylander, 1852	LC	2
Colletidae	Hylaeus clypearis (Schenck, 1853)	LC	15
Colletidae	Hylaeus communis Nylander, 1852	LC	2
Colletidae	Hylaeus confusus Nylander, 1852	LC	1
Colletidae	Hylaeus gibbus Saunders, 1850	LC	8
Colletidae	Hylaeus hyalinatus Smith, 1842	LC	5
Colletidae	Hylaeus imparilis Förster, 1871	LC	3
Colletidae	Hylaeus leptocephalus Morawitz, 1870	LC	1
Colletidae	Hylaeus lineolatus (Schenck, 1861)	LC	1
Colletidae	Hylaeus pfankuchi (Alfken, 1919)	LC	1
Colletidae	Hylaeus pictipes Nylander, 1852	LC	9
Colletidae	Hylaeus pictus (Smith, 1853)	DD	12
Colletidae	Hylaeus punctatus Brullé, 1832	LC	6
Colletidae	Hylaeus signatus Panzer, 1798	LC	1
Colletidae	Hylaeus variegatus Fabricius, 1798	LC	5
Halictidae	Halictus brunnescens (Eversmann, 1852)	DD	1
Halictidae	Halictus crenicornis Bluthgen, 1923	DD	2
Halictidae	Halictus fulvipes (Klug in Germar, 1817)	LC	5
Halictidae	Halictus maculatus Smith, 1848	LC	1
Halictidae	Halictus patellatus Morawitz, 1873	LC	3
Halictidae	Halictus scabiosae (Rossi, 1790)	LC	11
Halictidae	Halictus simplex Bluthgen, 1923	LC	12
Halictidae	Lasioglossum albocinctum (Lucas, 1849)	LC	4
Halictidae	Lasioglossum bimaculatum (Dours, 1872)	LC	31
Halictidae	Lasioglossum bluethgeni Ebmer, 1971	LC	2
Halictidae	Lasioglossum glabriusculum Morawitz, 1872	LC	4
Halictidae	Lasioglossum griseolum Morawitz, 1872	LC	2
Halictidae	Lasioglossum ibericum (Ebmer, 1975)	DD	1
Halictidae	Lasioglossum laticeps (Schenck, 1868)	LC	2
Halictidae	Lasioglossum limbellum Morawitz, 1872	DD	1
Halictidae	Lasioglossum lineare (Schenck, 1869)	DD	1
Halictidae	Lasioglossum malachurum Kirby, 1802	LC	28
Halictidae	Lasioglossum mediterraneum Bluthgen, 1926	LC	10
Halictidae	Lasioglossum mesosclerum Pérez, 1903	DD	3
Halictidae	Lasioglossum minutissimum Kirby, 1802	LC	2
Halictidae	Lasioglossum morio (Fabricius, 1793)	LC	6
Halictidae	Lasioglossum nigripes Lepeletier, 1841	LC	1
Halictidae	Lasioglossum nitidulum Fabricius, 1804	LC	16
Halictidae	Lasioglossum pauperatum Brullé, 1832	LC	1
Halictidae	Lasioglossum pauxillum (Schenck, 1853)	LC	3
Halictidae	Lasioglossum politum Schenck, 1853	LC	1
Halictidae	Lasioglossum prasinum Smith, 1848	NT	1
Halictidae	Lasioglossum pygmaeum (Schenck, 1853)	NT	18
Halictidae	Lasioglossum sexnotatum (Kirby, 1802)	NT	2
Halictidae	Lasioglossum soror (Saunders, 1901)	EN	21
Halictidae	Lasioglossum subhirtum (Lepeletier, 1841)	LC	3
Halictidae	Lasioglossum transitorium (Schenck, 1869)	LC	96
Halictidae	Lasioglossum villosulum Kirby, 1802	LC	1
Halictidae	Lasioglossum zonulum (Smith, 1848)	LC	2
Halictidae	Nomiapis diversipes (Latreille, 1806)	LC	2
Halictidae	Seladonia confusa (Smith, 1853)	LC	1
Halictidae	Seladonia gemmea (Dours, 1872)	LC	5
Halictidae	Seladonia pollinosa (Sichel, 1860)	LC	1
Halictidae	Seladonia smaragdula (Vachal, 1895)	LC	4
Halictidae	Seladonia subaurata (Rossi, 1792)	LC	2
Halictidae	Seladonia vestita (Lepeletier, 1841)	LC	2
Halictidae	Sphecodes ephippius (Linnaeus, 1767)	LC	1
Halictidae	Sphecodes pellucidus Smith, 1845	LC	1
Halictidae	Sphecodes ruficrus (Erichson, 1835)	LC	1
Megachilidae	Anthidiellum strigatum Panzer, 1805	LC	9
Megachilidae	Anthidium diadema Latreille, 1809	DD	1
Megachilidae	Anthidium florentinum Fabricius, 1775	LC	12
Megachilidae	Anthidium loti Perris, 1852	DD	4
Megachilidae	Anthidium manicatum (Linnaeus, 1758)	LC	14
Megachilidae	Anthidium oblongatum Immigur, 1806	LC	6
Megachilidae	Chelostoma distinctum Stoeckhert, 1929	LC	2
Megachilidae	Chelostoma florisomne Linnaeus, 1758	LC	4
Megachilidae	Chelostoma rapunculi (Lepeletier, 1841)	LC	1
Megachilidae	Heriades crenulata Nylander, 1856	LC	14
Megachilidae	Heriades truncorum Linnaeus, 1758	LC	16
Megachilidae	Hoplitis acuticornis (Dufour & Perris, 1840)	LC	1
Megachilidae	Hoplitis adunca Panzer, 1798	LC	32
Megachilidae	Hoplitis anthocopoides Schenck, 1853	LC	6
Megachilidae	Hoplitis benoisti Alfken, 1935	LC	15
Megachilidae	Hoplitis bisulca (Gerstäcker, 1869)	LC	1
Megachilidae	Hoplitis brachypogon (Pérez, 1880)	LC	1
Megachilidae	Hoplitis cristatula (Van der Zanden, 1990)	LC	11
Megachilidae	Hoplitis leucomelana (Kirby, 1802)	LC	1
Megachilidae	Hoplitis mocsaryi (Friese, 1895)	LC	1
Megachilidae	Hoplitis perezi (Ferton, 1895)	LC	1
Megachilidae	Megachile apicalis (Spinola, 1808)	LC	3
Megachilidae	Megachile argentata Alfken, 1924	LC	6
Megachilidae	Megachile centuncularis Linnaeus, 1758	LC	6
Megachilidae	Megachile ericetorum Lepeletier, 1841	LC	3
Megachilidae	Megachile flabellipes Perez, 1895	DD	1
Megachilidae	Megachile giraudi Gerstäcker, 1869	DD	1
Megachilidae	Megachile leachella Curtis, 1828	LC	1
Megachilidae	Megachile maritima (Kirby, 1802)	DD	1
Megachilidae	Megachile melanopyga Costa, 1863	LC	6
Megachilidae	Megachile opacifrons Pérez, 1897	DD	1
Megachilidae	Megachile parietina (Geoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785)	LC	12
Megachilidae	Megachile pusilla Pérez, 1884	DD	2
Megachilidae	Megachile pyrenaica Lepeletier, 1841	DD	4
Megachilidae	Megachile rotundata (Fabricius, 1793)	DD	4
Megachilidae	Megachile sculpturalis Smith, 1853		6
Megachilidae	Megachile willughbiella Kirby, 1802	LC	3
Megachilidae	Osmia aurulenta Panzer, 1799	LC	23
Megachilidae	Osmia bicornis Linnaeus, 1758	LC	34
Megachilidae	Osmia brevicornis Fabricius, 1798	LC	5
Megachilidae	Osmia caerulescens (Linnaeus, 1758)	LC	6
Megachilidae	Osmia dimidiata Morawitz, 1870	LC	1
Megachilidae	Osmia latreillei (Spinola, 1806)	LC	10
Megachilidae	Osmia leaiana (Kirby, 1802)	LC	4
Megachilidae	Osmia ligurica Morawitz, 1868	LC	3
Megachilidae	Osmia melanogaster Spinola, 1807	LC	24
Megachilidae	Osmia minutula (Pérez, 1896)	DD	1
Megachilidae	Osmia nasoproducta Ferton, 1910	DD	8
Megachilidae	Osmia niveata (Fabricius, 1804)	LC	47
Megachilidae	Osmia rufohirta Latreille, 1811	LC	20
Megachilidae	Osmia scutellaris Morawitz, 1868	LC	10
Megachilidae	Osmia signata Erichson, 1835	LC	3
Megachilidae	Osmia submicans Morawitz, 1870	LC	10
Megachilidae	Osmia tricornis Latreille, 1811	LC	56
Megachilidae	Osmia versicolor Latreille, 1811	LC	9
Megachilidae	Protosmia minutula (Pérez, 1896)	DD	3
Megachilidae	Rhodanthidium infuscatum (Erichson in Waltl, 1835)	DD	5
Megachilidae	Rhodanthidium septemdentatum Latreille, 1809	DD	171
Megachilidae	Rhodanthidium sticticum (Fabricius, 1787)	DD	162
Megachilidae	Stelis breviuscula Nylander, 1848	LC	1
Megachilidae	Stelis signata (Latreille, 1809)	LC	2
Melittidae	Dasypoda argentata Panzer, 1809	NT	1
Melittidae	Dasypoda hirtipes (Fabricius, 1793)	LC	1
Total			2181

Traits coverage

Temporal coverage

Data range:

2003-3-20 - 2023-9-01.

Notes:

The specimens were captured from 2003 to 2023. Twenty specimens were collected at an unknown date. Most of the specimens were captured in April or May (the time of the year in which bees are the most abundant in this region), totalling 60% of the dated captures (Fig. 2).

Figure 2.

Within year distribution of bees in the IMBE collection.

Collection data

Collection name:

IMBE Apoidea collection (Hymenoptera)

Collection identifier:

IMBE-H

Specimen preservation method:

Dried and pinned specimens

Curatorial unit:

IMBE, contact: Gabriel Nève (email: gabriel.neve@imbe.fr)

Usage licence

Usage licence:

Creative Commons Public Domain Waiver (CC-Zero)

IP rights notes:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 Licence. All work derived from the present study should cite it appropriately.

Data resources

Data package title:

IMBE Bee collection (Hymenoptera)

Resource link:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13936315

Alternative identifiers:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14356371

Number of data sets:

Data set name:

IMBE Apoidea collection (Hymenoptera)

Character set:

IMBE_beeColl_v02.csv

Data format:

CSV (tab delimited values)

Data format version:

Darwin core, so that it may be transferred later into GBIF.

Description:

The dataset includes data on 2181 specimens of Apoidea collected or received by researchers at IMBE, in GBIF compatible format.

Column label	Column description
occurrenceID	Unique specimen identifier : H (for Hymenoptera) and four digits.
catalogNumber	Insitution code (i.e. IMBE) followed by individual occurenceID. Each specimen bears a label with this identifier.
basisOfRecord	The specific nature of the data record (i.e. PreservedSpecimen).
eventDate	Event date in the format YYYY-MM-DD if the capture date is known to the date or YYYY if only the year is known. If time of capture is known, then format is YYYYMM-DDTHH:MM, with HH:MM the local time.
year	Year of capture.
month	Month of capture if known,
day	Day of capture if known,
verbatimEventDate	Date of capture, as mentioned on the label,
scientificName	Lowest taxonomic rank possible, usually the species name, sometimes the subspecies, with author and year.
identificationQualifier	In case the identification could be given only to a species group, 'cf.' was input.
identificationRemarks	Any comment on the identification of the specimen, with list of possible species.
kingdom	Kingdom name (i.e. Animalia).
phylum	Phylum name (i.e. Arthropoda).
class	Class name (i.e. Insecta).
order	Order name (i.e. Hymenoptera).
family	Family name.
genus	Genus name.
specificEpithet	Species epithet of the scientificName.
infraspecificEpithet	Subspecific epithet, if any is relevant.
scientificNameAuthorship	Name of the scientist who described the species and year of description publication.
sex	Male (M) or female (F).
caste	Queen or worker if known.
taxonRank	Taxonomic rank of the most specific name in the scientificName.
identifiedBy	Name of the entomologist who identified the specimen.
dateIdentified	Year of identification.
identificationVerificationStatus	Whether (coded 1) or not (coded 0) the identification is reliable to species level.
previousIdentifications	Species name originally given on the specimen label.
country	Country of capture.
countryCode	Two letter country code of the specimen capture location.
stateProvince	French departmental administrative division. In the case of non-French data, any relevant country administrative subdivision.
locality	Location of capture, usually the municipality.
verbatimLocality	Any geographical indication on the label.
occurrenceRemarks	Any ecological data or comment on the label, including method of capture if known.
decimalLatitude	Geographic latitude (in decimal degrees) of the capture location.
decimalLongitude	Geographic longitude (in decimal degrees) of the capture location.
geodeticDatum	System and set of reference points upon which the geographic coordinates are based (i.e. WGS 84)
coordinateUncertaintyInMeters	Uncertainty in coordinates, in meters
minimumElevationInMeters	Lower limit of the range of altitudes indicated on the label or in the associated reference
maximumElevationInMeters	Higher limit of the range of altitude indicated on the label or in the associated reference.
georeferencedBy	Identity of the person who added the latitude and longitude data, i.e. either the original recorder or Nève, Gabriel.
georeferenceProtocol	How the georeference was computed, i.e. either from georeference web sites or from label data (verbatimLocality).
georeferenceSources	Georeference code was inferred from geoportail.gouv.fr, French ING maps or GoogleEarthPro.
georeferencedDate	Georeference work was either performed at the time of recording or in 2024.
recordedBy	Name of collector (i.e. legit information).
otherCatalogNumbers	Any other code the specimen may have, usually according to the study protocol during which it was captured.
institutionCode	Institution where the specimen is held (i.e. IMBE, Marseille).
organismQuantity	Number of individuals bearing the same label (usually 1).
organismQuantityType	Individuals.
language	The dataset is mainly written in French, apart from column headings, which are in English.
associatedReferences	Any reference citing the relevant specimen.

Additional information

General discussion

At a time of global pollinator decline, this study highlights once again the French Mediterranean Region as one of the main hotspots for wild bee species (Orr et al. 2021, Reverté et al. 2023). The collection holds about a quarter of the 980 species that thrive in mainland France (Ropars et al. in press) and the data provided here will contribute to improve knowledge about French bee species.

The collected specimens listed here, beyond enhancing our understanding of wild bees as previously mentioned, are also used as a reference collection and for the training of entomologists to ensure the accurate identification of future specimens. Moreover, such a collection acts as a 'memory of nature's diversity,' an exceptional resource available to scientists worldwide. Preserving these specimens provides tangible evidence of biodiversity over time, offering a unique opportunity to monitor its evolution in the long term — a critical aspect in the face of the current widespread biodiversity decline and the current major global changes.

One species in the IMBE collection is classified as 'endangered' by the IUCN at the European level (Nieto et al. 2014). This species, Lasioglossum soror, was recorded at nine different localities in the Calanques National Park in 2018. Our data suggest that this species is locally widespread and may have been overlooked in other studies as all but two of the 19 specimens in the IMBE collection were collected in coloured pan traps.

Six species in the IMBE collection are classified as “Near Threatened” by the IUCN at the European level (Nieto et al. 2014): Andrena ovatula, Colletes albomaculatus, Lasioglossum prasinum, Lasioglossum pygmaeum, Lasioglossum sexnotatum and Dasypoda argentata. In addition, D. argentata is also generally recognised as a rare species. The identification of these species is crucial for conservation efforts, as it guides habitat management and protection initiatives. Understanding the status of near-threatened species helps preserve biodiversity and maintain essential ecosystem services provided by pollinators, while raising public awareness and support for bee conservation initiatives. Finally, a total of 68 species recorded in the IMBE collection are currently classified as 'Data Deficient'. This status underscores significant gaps in our understanding of these species' biology, distribution and conservation needs. It highlights the critical importance of maintaining and enhancing monitoring efforts to gather the data necessary for informed conservation decisions. Ensuring the availability of updated and comprehensive information on these species is essential to address potential threats and support their long-term survival.

This study is part of current national effort to document the distribution of pollinators in France. Many initiatives, for example, French National Pollinator Plan, Regional Initiatives ("Plan Régional d'Action") and the French Checklist (Ropars et al. in press) are currently assessing the status of wild bees species in France and this topical issue is part of the research programme. By contributing valuable data to the forthcoming French Red List of bees, we aim to foster a greater awareness of the ecological significance of these species. As the IMBE continues its dedicated research, we anticipate that future studies will further enrich our knowledge and help shape effective conservation strategies, ensuring that these vital pollinators thrive for generations to come.

Abbreviation used throughout

IMBE: Institut Méditerranen de Biodiversité et d’Ecologie marine et continentale (Marseille, France)

Acknowledgements

Erwin Scheuchl, Benoît Martha, Emile Gigandet, Gilles Mahé, Yvan Brugerolles, Gérard Le Goff and Nicolas J. Vereecken identified some of the specimens. Jean-Yves Meunier set up the boxes and the label layout and started the data input of the collection. Robert Mesibov gave us valuable advice on the GBIF format.

This scientific work is part of the natural heritage inventory (inpn.mnhn.fr). In 2023, it received support from PatriNat (OFB-CNRS-MNHN).

Author contributions

Study design: GN and BG, data input: LS and CL, capture of specimens and labelling: CCJ, LR, LS, FF, MZ, BG, identification of specimens: MA, CB, ED, BG and VL; data analysis and formatting: GN, writing up: CL, LS, BG, CCJ, LS, MZ and GN, supervision: GN, collection management: GN. All authors commented and agreed on the final manuscript. The first two authors contributed equally to this work.

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Supplementary material

Suppl. material 1: Numbers of specimens per French Department

Authors: Gabriel Nève

Data type: geographic coverage of bee data in France

Brief description:

Numbers of bee specimens per French Department in the IMBE collection (Marseille, France). Encoding is UTF-8.

Two specimens from Italy (Sardinia) and one from Spain (Catalonia) are exluded.

Download file (357.00 bytes)

Endnotes