Osmia (Osmia)

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Osmiini
Genus: Osmia Panzer, 1806
Subgenus: Osmia, Panzer 1806
Common name: none

Overview

Osmia (s. str.) are robust bees with long hairs that vary in color. Some Osmia (s. str.) are completely black, others have metallic hints, while others are strongly metallic (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). They range in body length from 8.5–16 mm (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). In 2013, Osmia subgenera Monosmia and Orientosmia were integrated into Osmia (s. str.) by Haider et al. 2013Haider et al. 2013:
Haider, M. S. Dorn, C. Sedivy, A. Muuml;ller. 2013. Phylogeny and floral hosts of a predominantly pollen generalist group of mason bees (Megachilidae: Osmiini). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 111: 78ndash;91..

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.)

• Antenna reaches the propodeumpropodeum:
  the last segment of the thorax
  .
• Hind coxacoxa:
  the basal segment of the leg
  without strong longitudinal carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  along inner ventralventral:
  of, on, or relating to the underside of an animal, or segment of an animal
  angle.
• Genal area has a small shining depression below and behind the lower margin of the eye.
• Malar space is as long as the width of the scapescape:
  the basal, and usually the longest, segment of the antennae
  .
• Middle flagellar segments are twice as long as they are broad.
• Proboscis proboscis:
  an elongated sucking mouthpart that is typically tubular and flexible
  does not reach beyond the middle of the thorax in repose.
• Female clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  in some cases is produced forward at a strong angle and does not overhang the labrumlabrum:
  part of the head abutting the clypeus, folds down in front of the mouthparts
  . In other cases, the clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  is ordinary, truncatetruncate:
  ending abruptly, or squared off
  , and overhangs the base of the labrumlabrum:
  part of the head abutting the clypeus, folds down in front of the mouthparts
  .
• Male T7T7:
  the segments on the top side of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, or T7
  with a small median emarginationemargination:
  a notched or cut out place in an edge or margin, can be dramatic or simply a subtle inward departure from the general curve or line of the margin or structure being described
  .

May be confused with

Osmia (s. str.) may be confused with O. (Neosmia) due to their robust bodies with long hairs; however, they can be differentiated by the characteristics listed above (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Host associations

In Osmia (s. str.), some species are generalists while others are specialists. Many are specialists on Boraginaceae and Fabaceae. Other Osmia (s. str.) species are generalists on Ranunculaceae, Fabaceae, Papaveraceae, Cistaceae, Rosaceae, Brassicaceae, Salicaceae, Juglandaceae, Altingiaceae, Lamiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Caprifoliaceae (Westrich 1989Westrich 1989:
Westrich, P. 1989. Die Wildbienen Baden-Wuuml;rttembergs. Eugen Ulmer GmbH amp; Co., Stuttgart, 972 pp.; Müller 2012; Haider et al. 2013Haider et al. 2013:
Haider, M. S. Dorn, C. Sedivy, A. Muuml;ller. 2013. Phylogeny and floral hosts of a predominantly pollen generalist group of mason bees (Megachilidae: Osmiini). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 111: 78ndash;91.; Müller 2018b).

Nesting behavior

Osmia (s. str.) species use a diverse range of nesting sites and materials. Cell partitions and nest plugs are comprised predominantly of mud (Müller 2018b). They have been observed nesting in insect burrows in dead wood and in the ground, pithy stems, hollow stems, abandoned cells in other bee nests, empty snail shells, crevices between rock, as well as in man-made materials such as crevices in walls, between shingles on houses, metal tubes, between folded newspapers, and drilled borings in wooden blocks (Ducke 1900Ducke 1900:
Ducke, A. 1900. Die Bienengattung Osmia Panz. Ber. naturw.-med. Ver. Innsbruck 25: 1ndash;323.; Graeffe 1902Graeffe 1902:
Graeffe, E. 1902. Die Apiden-Fauna des ouml;sterreichischen Kuuml;stenlandes. Verh. k. k. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, 52: 113ndash;135.; Friese 1923Friese 1923:
Friese, H. 1923. Die europäischen Bienen (Apidae). Das Leben und Wirken unserer Blumenwespen. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. 456 pp.; Kitamura and Maeta 1969Kitamura and Maeta 1969:
Kitamura, T. and Y. Maeta. 1969. Studies on the pollination of apple by Osmia . III. Preliminary report on the homing ability of Osmia cornifrons (Radoszkowski) and O. pedicornis Cockerell. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.; Rust 1974Rust 1974:
Rust, R.W. 1974. The systematics and biology of the genus Osmia, subgenera Osmia, Chalcosmia, and Cephalosmia. Wasmann Journal of Biology 32: 1ndash;93.; Maeta 1978Maeta 1978:
Maeta, Y. 1978. Comparative studies on the biology of the bees of the genus Osmia of Japan, with special reference to their managements for pollinations of crops (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Bulletin of the Tohoku National Agricultural Experiment Station. 57: 195ndash;209.; Westrich 1989Westrich 1989:
Westrich, P. 1989. Die Wildbienen Baden-Wuuml;rttembergs. Eugen Ulmer GmbH amp; Co., Stuttgart, 972 pp.; Bosch et al. 1993Bosch et al. 1993:
Bosch, J., N. Vicens, and M. Blas. 1993. Analisis de los nidos de algunos Megachilidae nidificantes en cavidades pre-establecidas. Orsis 8: 53ndash;63.; Müller et al. 1997; Banaszak and Romasenko 2001Banaszak and Romasenko 2001:
Banaszak J. and L. Romasenko. 2001. Megachilid bees of Europe. Second edition. Bydgoszcz: Bydgoszcz University Press. 239 pp.; Ivanov 2006Ivanov 2006:
Ivanov, S.P. 2006. The nesting of Osmia rufa (L.) (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) in the Crimea: Structure and composition of nests. Entomological Review 86: 524ndash;533.; Müller 2018b).

Diversity

Osmia (s. str.) consists of 29 described species (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Known invasives

Osmia (s. str.) has five known introduced species in the U.S.: O. cornifrons, O. cornuta, O. melanocephala, O. taurus, and O. ribifloris. Further, at least one native North American species (O. lignaria) has been documented in Spain (Ortiz-Sanchez 2011Ortiz-Sanchez 2011:
Ortiz-Sanchez, F.J. 2011. Lista actualizada de lase species de abejas de Espana (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes). Boletin de la Sociedad Entomologica Aragonesa 49: 265ndash;281.), although it is unclear if they have become established.

Osmia cornifrons is native to eastern China and Japan. They were introduced to North America, Denmark, and Korea intentionally in the 1960s for commercial pollination of fruit crops (Russo 2016Russo 2016:
Russo, L. 2016. Positive and negative impacts of non-native bee species around the world. Insects 7: 69.).

Osmia cornuta is native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia. They were most likely intentionally introduced in the 1980s to the United States; however, it is unclear if they have become established (Russo 2016Russo 2016:
Russo, L. 2016. Positive and negative impacts of non-native bee species around the world. Insects 7: 69.).

Osmia taurus is native to eastern China and Japan. They were introduced to eastern North America in the 2000s, most likely accidentally brought along with the intentionally introduced O. cornifrons (Russo 2016Russo 2016:
Russo, L. 2016. Positive and negative impacts of non-native bee species around the world. Insects 7: 69.).

Osmia ribifloris is native to the western U.S. They were intentionally introduced to the eastern U.S. in the 2000s for commercial pollination (Russo 2016Russo 2016:
Russo, L. 2016. Positive and negative impacts of non-native bee species around the world. Insects 7: 69.).

Distribution

Osmia (s. str.) occur from Western Europe to Japan, and from Canada to Mexico (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

​Distribution map generated by Discover Life -- click on map for details, credits, and terms of use.

References

Banaszak J. and L. Romasenko. 2001. Megachilid bees of Europe. Second edition. Bydgoszcz: Bydgoszcz University Press. 239 pp.

Bosch, J., N. Vicens, and M. Blas. 1993. Analisis de los nidos de algunos Megachilidae nidificantes en cavidades pre-establecidas. Orsis 8: 53-63.

Ducke, A. 1900. Die Bienengattung Osmia Panz. Ber. naturw.-med. Ver. Innsbruck, 25: 1-323.

Friese, H. 1923. Die europäischen Bienen (Apidae). Das Leben und Wirken unserer Blumenwespen. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. 456 pp.

Graeffe, E. 1902. Die Apiden-Fauna des österreichischen Küstenlandes. Verh. k. k. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, 52: 113-135.

Haider, M. S. Dorn, C. Sedivy, A. Müller. 2013. Phylogeny and floral hosts of a predominantly pollen generalist group of mason bees (Megachilidae: Osmiini). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 111: 78-91.

Ivanov, S.P. 2006. The nesting of Osmia rufa (L.) (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) in the Crimea: Structure and composition of nests. Entomological Review 86: 524-533.

Kitamura, T. and Y. Maeta. 1969. Studies on the pollination of apple by Osmia. III. Preliminary report on the homing ability of Osmia cornifrons (Radoszkowski) and O. pedicornis Cockerell. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

Maeta, Y. 1978. Comparative studies on the biology of the bees of the genus Osmia of Japan, with special reference to their managements for pollinations of crops (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Bulletin of the Tohoku National Agricultural Experiment Station. 57: 195–209. 

Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.

Müller, A., A. Krebs, and F. Amiet, F., 1997. Bienen: Mitteleuropäische Gattungen, Lebensweise, Beobachtung. Naturbuch Verlag, Augsburg, pp. 384.

Müller, A. 2012. Osmia (Orientosmia) maxschwarzi sp. n., a new Palaearctic osmiine bee with extraordinarily long mouthparts (Hymenoptera, Apiformes, Megachilidae). Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft Bulletin De La Société Entomologique Suisse 85: 27–35.

Müller, A. 2018. Palaearctic Osmiine bees. ETH Zurich. http://blogs.ethz.ch/osmiini

Ortiz-Sanchez. 2011. Lista actualizada de lase species de abejas de Espana (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes). Boletin de la Sociedad Entomologica Aragonesa 49: 265-281.

Romankova, T.G. 1985. A new species of the bee genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Zoologicheskii zhurnal 64: 942-944.

Russo, L. 2016. Positive and negative impacts on non-native bee species around the world. Insects 7: 69.

Rust, R.W., R.W. Thorp, and P.F. Torchio. 1974. The ecology of Osmia nigrifrons with a comparison to other species of Acanthosmioides. Journal of Natural History 8:29-47.

Westrich, P. 1989. Die Wildbienen Baden-Württembergs. Eugen Ulmer GmbH & Co., Stuttgart, 972 pp.