Anthidium atripoides

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Anthidiini
Genus: Anthidium Fabricius, 1804
Subgenus: A. (Anthidium) Fabricius, 1804
Species: Anthidium atripoides Cresson, 1879
Common name: none

Overview

Anthidium (Anthidium) atripoides have black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
and cream or yellow-colored maculations (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013Gonzalez and Griswold 2013:
Gonzalez, V.H. and T.L. Griswold. 2013. Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography. Zoological Journal 168: 221ndash;425.). Females have black scopascopa:
modified hairs for carrying pollen; often branched and dense hairs on the hind-leg, or on the ventral surface of the abdomen in Megachilidae
and pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
on their legs and white pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
throughout the rest of their body. Females range in body length from 8.5–11.5 mm (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013Gonzalez and Griswold 2013:
Gonzalez, V.H. and T.L. Griswold. 2013. Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography. Zoological Journal 168: 221ndash;425.). Males have black and white pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
on their legs and primarily white pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
throughout the rest of their body. Males range in body length from 9.2–11.5 mm (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013Gonzalez and Griswold 2013:
Gonzalez, V.H. and T.L. Griswold. 2013. Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography. Zoological Journal 168: 221ndash;425.).

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Gonzalez and Griswold 2013Gonzalez and Griswold 2013:
Gonzalez, V.H. and T.L. Griswold. 2013. Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography. Zoological Journal 168: 221ndash;425.)

• Female clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  with a thick apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  margin.
• Female fore basitarsusbasitarsus:
  the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
  is covered with long, semi-erect, unbranched hairs along the outer margin as well as short tomentumtomentum:
  a form of pubescence composed of short matted, woolly hair
  .
• Female hind tibiatibia:
  the segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
  without anterioranterior:
  toward the head or on the head side of a segment being described
  carina.
• Female labrumlabrum:
  part of the head abutting the clypeus, folds down in front of the mouthparts
  without basalbasal:
  originating at the foundation of a structure
  protuberances.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  has five teeth.
• Female T3–T5 have depressed marginal zones that are weakly punctatepunctate:
  studded with tiny holes
  and lack smooth, shiny distaldistal:
  place on a segment that is furthest from the place of attachment with the body
  margins.
• Male S4S4:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  median apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  brush broad, straight, and black.
• Male S6S6:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  has a low or absent laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  lobe.
• Male S6S6:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  apexapex:
  end of any structure
  of median lobe truncatetruncate:
  ending abruptly, or squared off
  .
• Male S8S8:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  is shallowly bifidbifid:
  divided into two branches; forked
  on the apexapex:
  end of any structure
  .

May be confused with

Anthidium atripoides may be confused with A. atripes based on similar body size, black pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
on the leg of females, the sparsely punctatepunctate:
studded with tiny holes
depressed marginal zone the tergaterga:
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
, and S6S6:
the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
lacking a distinct laterallateral:
relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
lobe (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013Gonzalez and Griswold 2013:
Gonzalez, V.H. and T.L. Griswold. 2013. Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography. Zoological Journal 168: 221ndash;425.). Female A. atripoides can be differentiated from A. atripes by the less dense tomentumtomentum:
a form of pubescence composed of short matted, woolly hair
on the fore basitarsusbasitarsus:
the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
and the thick apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
margin of the clypeusclypeus:
a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
in A. atripoides (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013Gonzalez and Griswold 2013:
Gonzalez, V.H. and T.L. Griswold. 2013. Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography. Zoological Journal 168: 221ndash;425.). Male A. atripoides can be differentiated from A. atripes by the presence of a straight, rather than concave, margin of S4S4:
the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
, and the lack of an apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
emargination on the median lobe on S6S6:
the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
in A. atripoides (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013Gonzalez and Griswold 2013:
Gonzalez, V.H. and T.L. Griswold. 2013. Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography. Zoological Journal 168: 221ndash;425.). Additionally, A. atripoides have a shinier abdominal integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
than A. atripes.

Phenology

Anthidium atripoides adults have been recorded in flight from late April to early July, with peak activity occurring from the last half of May to the first half of June (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013Gonzalez and Griswold 2013:
Gonzalez, V.H. and T.L. Griswold. 2013. Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography. Zoological Journal 168: 221ndash;425.).

Host associations

Anthidium atripoides is a generalist that has been observed visiting a variety of species of Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Brassicaceae, Cactaceae, Cleomaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae, Malvaceae, Polemoniaceae, Polygonaceae, and Tamaricaceae (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013Gonzalez and Griswold 2013:
Gonzalez, V.H. and T.L. Griswold. 2013. Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography. Zoological Journal 168: 221ndash;425.).

Nesting behavior

Nesting behavior is unknown.

Distribution

Anthidium atripoides occur in the western U.S. in Nevada, Utah, and western Colorado (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013Gonzalez and Griswold 2013:
Gonzalez, V.H. and T.L. Griswold. 2013. Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography. Zoological Journal 168: 221ndash;425.). They are native to the Great Basin shrub-steppe and to shrublands in the Colorado Plateau.

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

References

Gonzalez, V.H. and T.L. Griswold. 2013. Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 168: 221-425.