Icteranthidium

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Anthidiini
Genus: Icteranthidium Michener, 1948
Subgenera: none
Common name: none

Overview

Icteranthidium often have black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
with extensive yellow markings on their head and thorax, and many species have almost entirely yellow abdomens (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). Their body length can range from 7.5–15 mm (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Diversity

Icteranthidium consists of approximately 25 species (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.); none are known to occur in the U.S. or Canada.

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.)

• Arolia absent.
• Axilla axilla:
  the triangular or rounded point on the thorax where thoracic muscles meet the forewing of an insect
  frequently pointed posteriorly.
• Omaulus omaulus:
  angle between anterior and lateral surfaces of mesepisternum
  carinatecarinate:
  having keels or carinae
  .
• Preoccipital carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  absent behind the vertexvertex:
  the area between the ocelli and the back of the head
  , but strong laterally and continuing down to the lower mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  .
• Propodeum propodeum:
  the last segment of the thorax
  with foveafovea:
  a depressed region of cuticle; in bees this depressed area is usually only very slightly hollow and usually on the face.
  defined by a carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  behind spiraclespiracle:
  a breathing pore, usually occurring on the third thorasic segment
  present.
• Pronotal lobe pronotal lobe:
  a part of the pronotum located dorsally on the posterior margin of the pronotum and overlaps the anterior thoracic spiracle
  strongly lamellatelamellate:
  thin, plate-like, often somewhat translucent structure
  .
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  has four teeth separated by shallow concavities.
• Female T6T6:
  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
  is concave in profile.
• Female T6T6:
  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 margin convexconvex:
  curved outward
  and with a median notch.
• 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
  has a mid-apical projection. Occasionally, a laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  projection is present.

May be confused with

Icteranthidium may be confused with Dianthidium due to similar body form; however, Icteranthidium can be differentiated by the characteristics listed above.

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Host associations

Many Icteranthidium are generalists and can be found visiting up to 15 flower species (Müller 1996). Some species, including I. cimbiciforme, I. fedtschenkoi, I. laterale, I. afrum, have been found to exclusively or primarily visit Compositae (Müller 1996).

Nesting behavior

Nesting behavior is unknown.

Distribution

Icteranthidium is distributed from Morocco and Portugal to Mongolia, and throughout southern Europe, northern Africa, and southeast Pakistan (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). They also inhabit xericxeric:
a very dry habitat
habitats in Asia (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

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

Müller, A. 1996. Host-Plant specialization in Western PalearcticPalearctic:
the largest biogeographic region; consists of Europe, Asia north of the Himalaya foothills, Northern Africa, and the northern and central parts of the Arabian Peninsula
Anthidiine bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae). Ecological Monographs 66:235-257.