| Osmia caerulescens | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Megachilidae |
| Genus: | Osmia |
| Species: | O. caerulescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Osmia caerulescens | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Osmia caerulescens, the blue mason bee, is a species of solitary bee from the family Megachilidae. [1] It has a Holarctic distribution extending into the Indomalayan region, although its presence in the Nearctic may be due to human-assisted introduction. [2]
Females of Osmia caerulescens are 10–11 mm in length, dark blue-black in color, with a metallic sheen, and sparsely covered with brown hairs with those on the abdomen forming a narrow, dense, flattened band on the hind margin of each of the segments. The dense brush of pollen-collecting scopae on the underside of the abdomen is jet black. The males are slightly smaller, 9mm, more slender in build, distinctly metallic green and clothed with pale hairs. [3]
O. caerulescens occurs in a wide variety of habitats, including woodland and private gardens. [4]
O. caerulescens uses a variety of pre-existing cavities for nesting, such as insect burrows in dead wood, drilled borings in wooden blocks, hollow stems, drilled borings in pithy stems, burrows created by other insects in the ground, abandoned cells in exposed nests of other aculeates, cavities in banks, holes and crevices in walls, and glass tubes. The cell partitions and the nest plug are made of masticated leaf material and sometimes chewed petals are used, as well. Any irregularities in the nest burrows are lined with leaf pulp. In larger cavities, the cells are irregularly arranged, and the cell walls are partially or wholly built of chewed leaves. [2]
The bees winter as diapausing adults in their intact cocoons. [4] In Great Britain and France, this bee is bivoltine and is partially so in the Netherlands [4] The males usually emerge first and wait around the nests seeking females to mate with and are active for about three weeks. [3] The two flight periods in Great Britain are from mid April or May to late July, and then again in August. [4]
The bee is polylectic, but it collects pollen nearly exclusively on members of the Fabaceae. It has been observed collecting pollen from Coronilla , Hippocrepis , Lotus , Medicago , Melilotus , Onobrychis , Trifolium , and Vicia . It has also been observed to collect pollen from some members of the Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Hypericaceae, and Ranunculaceae The scopae of the females are used to comb pollen from the nototribic anthers of theLamiaceae and Antirrhineae. [2]
Occupied cocoons of the sapygid wasp Sapyga quinquepunctata have been recovered from a nest of O. caerulescens and the Natural History Museum, London, has specimens of S. quinquepunctata that have been reared from the nests of O. caerulescens. [4]
The two recognised subspecies of O. caerulescens are: [2]
O. caerulescens is mainly Palearctic and is found over most of Europe and Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. In Great Britain, it is mainly found in England and Wales becoming more localised in the north and reaches central Scotland. [4] It is also found in India. The occurrence of O.cearulescens in North America may be the result of introduction by humans. [2] Its North American range is from Minnesota to Nova Scotia, south to Illinois and North Carolina. [1]
Yellowjacket or yellow jacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of these are black and yellow like the eastern yellowjacket and the aerial yellowjacket ; some are black and white like the bald-faced hornet. Others may have the abdomen background color red instead of black. They can be identified by their distinctive markings, their occurrence only in colonies, and a characteristic, rapid, side-to-side flight pattern prior to landing. All females are capable of stinging. Yellowjackets are important predators of pest insects.
Megachile rotundata, the alfalfa leafcutting bee, is a European bee that has been introduced to various regions around the world. As a solitary bee species, it does not build colonies or store honey, but is a very efficient pollinator of alfalfa, carrots, other vegetables, and some fruits. Because of this, farmers often use M. rotundata as a pollination aid by distributing M. rotundata prepupae around their crops. Each female constructs and provisions her own nest, which is built in old trees or log tunnels. Being a leafcutter bee, these nests are lined with cut leaves. These bees feed on pollen and nectar and display sexual dimorphism. This species has been known to bite and sting, but it poses no overall danger unless it is threatened or harmed, and its sting has been described as half as painful as a honey bee's.
Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Characteristic traits of this family are the restriction of their pollen-carrying structure to the ventral surface of the abdomen, and their typically elongated labrum. Megachilid genera are most commonly known as mason bees and leafcutter bees, reflecting the materials from which they build their nest cells ; a few collect plant or animal hairs and fibers, and are called carder bees, while others use plant resins in nest construction and are correspondingly called resin bees. All species feed on nectar and pollen, but a few are kleptoparasites, feeding on pollen collected by other megachilid bees. Parasitic species do not possess scopae. The motion of Megachilidae in the reproductive structures of flowers is energetic and swimming-like; this agitation releases large amounts of pollen.
Mason bee is a name now commonly used for species of bees in the genus Osmia, of the family Megachilidae. Mason bees are named for their habit of using mud or other "masonry" products in constructing their nests, which are made in naturally occurring gaps such as between cracks in stones or other small dark cavities. When available, some species preferentially use hollow stems or holes in wood made by wood-boring insects.
Osmia lignaria, commonly known as the orchard mason bee or blue orchard bee, is a megachilid bee that makes nests in natural holes and reeds, creating individual cells for its brood that are separated by mud dividers. Unlike carpenter bees, it cannot drill holes in wood. O. lignaria is a common species used for early spring fruit bloom in the United States and Canada, though a number of other Osmia species are cultured for use in pollination.
Megachile sculpturalis, known as the giant resin bee and sculptured resin bee, is a species of leafcutting bees belonging to the family Megachilidae.
Osmia bicornis is a species of mason bee, and is known as the red mason bee due to its covering of dense gingery hair. It is a solitary bee that nests in holes or stems and is polylectic, meaning it forages pollen from various different flowering plants. These bees can be seen aggregating together and nests in preexisting hollows, choosing not to excavate their own. These bees are not aggressive; they will only sting if handled very roughly and are safe to be closely observed by children. Females only mate once, usually with closely related males. Further, females can determine the sex ratio of their offspring based on their body size, where larger females will invest more in diploid females eggs than small bees. These bees also have trichromatic colour vision and are important pollinators in agriculture.
Osmia cornuta, the European orchard bee, is a species of bee in the genus Osmia.
Osmia bicolor, the two-coloured mason-bee, is a Palearctic species of bee in the genus Osmia. It is outstanding amongst other megachilid bees in that it nests in empty snail shells.
Ammophila sabulosa, the red-banded sand wasp, is a species of the subfamily Ammophilinae of the solitary hunting wasp family Sphecidae, also called digger wasps. Found across Eurasia, the parasitoid wasp is notable for the mass provisioning behaviour of the females, hunting caterpillars mainly on sunny days, paralysing them with a sting, and burying them in a burrow with a single egg. The species is also remarkable for the extent to which females parasitise their own species, either stealing prey from nests of other females to provision their own nests, or in brood parasitism, removing the other female's egg and laying one of her own instead.
Chrysis ignita is a species of cuckoo wasp. It is one of a group of species which are difficult to separate and which may be referred to as ruby-tailed wasps. Cuckoo wasps are kleptoparasites – they lay their eggs in the nests of other species and their young consume the eggs or larva of the host for sustenance. These wasps have a number of adaptations which have evolved to equip them for their life cycle. Chrysis ignita parasitize mason bees in particular. Ruby-tailed wasps have metallic, armored bodies, and can roll up into balls to protect themselves from harm when infiltrating the nests of host bees and wasps. Unlike most other aculeates, cuckoo wasps cannot sting. Chrysis ignita is found across the European continent.
Megachile centuncularis, commonly known as the patchwork leafcutter bee, is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. It was first described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
Osmia xanthomelana, the large mason bee, is a species of mason bee in the genus Osmia. It has a wide distribution in the Palearctic but it is rare wherever it occurs and, for example, in Great Britain it has a highly restricted distribution, although in the past it was a little more widespread there.
Macropis nuda is a ground nesting, univoltine bee native to northern parts of North America. Thus, this species cocoons as pupae and hibernates over the winter. The species is unusual as it is an oligolectic bee, foraging exclusively for floral oils and pollen from Primulaceae of the species Lysimachia ciliata.
Osmia uncinata, the pinewood mason bee, is a species of solitary bee from the family Megachilidae It is an Arctic-alpine species which is found in the northern Palearctic, in the United Kingdom it is a Biodiversity Action Plan priority species.
Osmia inermis, the mountain mason bee , is a species of mason bee from the family Megachilidae which has a Holarctic distribution.
Odynerus spinipes, the spiny mason wasp, is a species of potter wasp from western Europe. It is the type species of the genus Odynerus, being first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Cerceris rybyensis, the ornate tailed digger wasp, is a Palearctic species of solitary wasp from the family Crabronidae which specialised in hunting small to medium-sized mining bees. It is the type species of the genus Cerceris and was named as Sphex rybyensis by Carl Linnaeus in 1771.
Osmia aurulenta is a Palearctic species of mason bee.
Osmia nigriventris, also known as the large black-bellied mason bee, is a species of solitary bee within the family Megachilidae.