Osmia latreillei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Megachilidae
Genus: Osmia
Species:
O. latreillei
Binomial name
Osmia latreillei
(Spinola, 1806)
Synonyms[1]
  • Megachile latreillei Spinola, 1806
  • Osmia nasidens Latreille, 1811

Osmia latreillei is a species of mason bee belonging to the family Megachilidae subfamily Megachilinae.

Subspecies

Subspecies include:[2]

  • Osmia latreillei iberoafricana Peters, 1975
  • Osmia latreillei latreillei (Spinola, 1806)

Distribution

This species is mainly found in central and southern Europe (France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, and Spain).[3] Occasionally these bees have also been found in North Africa and in the Middle East.[4]

Biology

Females of this species dig tunnels in the ground. At the end of each tunnel the bees hollow out cells where they lay supplies of pollen and deposit eggs. After hatching, the larvae feed directly on pollen grains for about thirty days. The bees overwinter in the stage of prepupae. In the spring they enter the pupal stage, while the adults appear at the end of March.[5] The flying season lasts from April through July.[6]

The bees are oligolectic, gathering pollen only from Asteraceae species.[7] However, adults have been observed feeding on flowers of various families of plants, mainly Reichardia picroides (Asteraceae), Echium angustifolium (Boraginaceae), Vicia villosa (Leguminosae), Euphorbia spp. (Euphorbiaceae), Salvia verticillata (Labiatae), Rosmarinus officinalis (Labiatae) and Morina persica (Dipsacaceae).[5]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Osmia latreillei.
  1. ↑ "Osmia latreillei (Spinola, 1806)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  2. ↑ Catalogue of life
  3. ↑ Fauna europaea
  4. ↑ Map of Osmia latreillei on Discover Life
  5. 1 2 Mourikis, Ρ Α; Argyriou, L. C.; Tsourgianni, Argyro (1988). "Crumbling of the masonry of ancient settlements on Santorini caused by the Hymenoptera Anthophora crinipes and Osmia latreillei". Entomologia Hellenica. 6: 59–61. doi:10.12681/eh.13960.
  6. ↑ Suárez-Cervera, María; Marquez, Jesús; Bosch, Jordi; Seoane-Camba, Juan (1994). "An ultrastructural study of pollen grains consumed by larvae of Osmia bees (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae)". Grana. 33 (4–5): 191–204. doi:10.1080/00173139409429000.
  7. ↑ Wafa, A. K. & A. A. El-Berry, 1972b. Nesting behaviour of Osmia latreillei Spin. and Osmia submicans Mor. Hymenoptera: Megachilidae. Bull. Soc. Entomol. Egypte 55: 363-372
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