Osmia cornifrons

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Osmiini
Genus: Osmia Panzer, 1806
Subgenus: O. (Osmia) Panzer, 1806
Species: Osmia cornifrons Radoszkowski, 1887
Common name: Japanese hornfaced bees

Overview

Osmia (Osmia) cornifrons are black bees with a copper luster (Wu 2006Wu 2006:
Wu, Y. 2006. Hymenoptera: Megachilidae. Fauna Sinica, Insecta. Vol. 4. Science Press, Beijing.). Females have light yellow hair on the thorax and T1–T3; T4–T6 are covered with dark brown hair (Wu 2006Wu 2006:
Wu, Y. 2006. Hymenoptera: Megachilidae. Fauna Sinica, Insecta. Vol. 4. Science Press, Beijing.). Males primarily have pale hair on their head, thorax, and abdomen, often with black hairs intermixed (Wu 2006Wu 2006:
Wu, Y. 2006. Hymenoptera: Megachilidae. Fauna Sinica, Insecta. Vol. 4. Science Press, Beijing.). Female body length ranges from 8–12 mm, and male body length ranges from 8–10 mm (Wu 2006Wu 2006:
Wu, Y. 2006. Hymenoptera: Megachilidae. Fauna Sinica, Insecta. Vol. 4. Science Press, Beijing.). O. cornifrons is used worldwide as a pollinator of commercial crops, especially apple trees, and was successfully introduced to the U.S. in the 1970s (Batra 1978Batra 1978:
Batra, S.W.T. 1978. Aggression, territoriality, mating, and nest aggregation of some solitary bees (Hymenoptera: Halictidae, Megachilidae, Colletidae, Anthophoridae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 51: 547ndash;559.).

Diagnostic characteristics 

(modified from Yasumatsu and Hirashima 1950Yasumatsu and Hirashima 1950:
Yasumatsu, K. and Hirashima, Y. 1950. Revision of the genus Osmia of Japan and Korea (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Mushi (Fukuoka) 21: 1ndash;18.; Wu 2006Wu 2006:
Wu, Y. 2006. Hymenoptera: Megachilidae. Fauna Sinica, Insecta. Vol. 4. Science Press, Beijing.)

• Mouthparts much smaller than the length of the entire body when extended.
• Terga terga:
  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
  usually with loosely formed apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  hair bandsbands:
  usually referring to bands of hair or bands of color that traverse across an abdominal segment
  .
• Female clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  disc with the apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  half shiny and impunctateimpunctate:
  marked with punctures or pits
  and the basalbasal:
  originating at the foundation of a structure
  half densely punctatepunctate:
  studded with tiny holes
  .
• Female clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  with long laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  horns and an acute median apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  projection.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  with inner-most tooth at almost a right angle.
• Female 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
  reddish-brown.
• Male antenna with F1 shorter than F2.
• Male clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  irregularly notched medially.
• Male gonostylusgonostylus:
  the apical-most appendage of the male genitalia, which is usually quite hairy
  distinctly expanded subapically.
• Male S2S2:
  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
  large, often covering S3S3:
  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
  to 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
  .
• Male 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
  and 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
  without 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 cornifrons look similar enough to O. taurus that it likely led to the accidental introduction of O. taurus to the U.S. Osmia cornifrons can be differentiated from O. taurus by the acute inner tooth of the mandiblemandible:
bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
and the densely punctatepunctate:
studded with tiny holes
basalbasal:
originating at the foundation of a structure
half of the clypeusclypeus:
a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
in O. cornifrons (Yasumatsu and Hirashima 1950Yasumatsu and Hirashima 1950:
Yasumatsu, K. and Hirashima, Y. 1950. Revision of the genus Osmia of Japan and Korea (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Mushi (Fukuoka) 21: 1ndash;18.). Males can be more difficult to differentiate, but O. taurus tend to have abdominal hair with a distinct red to orange hue, which can be faded in older specimens, and O. cornifrons have pale white abdominal hair, sometimes with black hair intermixed. The gonocoxites of O. cornifrons are also distinctly expanded subapically compared to the only slightly expanded gonocoxites of O. taurus.

Phenology

Osmia cornifrons have been recorded in flight in the U.S from March to June, with the majority of occurrences through April. In Asia, specimens have been recorded from January to August (GBIF 2019bGBIF 2019b:
GBIF.org. 11 July 2019. GBIF Occurrence Download. https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.lw8pwz).

Host associations 

Osmia cornifrons are a polylecticpolylectic:
bees that collect pollen from the flowers of a variety of unrelated plants
species and have been observed visiting plants within the families Rosaceae, Ericaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Aceraceae, Leguminosae, Fabaceae, and Brassicaceae, with a preference for Rosaceae (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.; Quest 2009Quest 2009:
Quest, M. 2009. Arbestand, okologie und habitatwahl von bienen ausgewahlter offenlebensraume im lazovski zapovednik (ferner osten russland). Entomofauna (ansfelden), supplement 15: 1ndash;357.; 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.). O. cornifrons are also important pollinators for fruit crops and are commonly used commercially for the pollination of apple orchards (Matsumoto and Maejima 2010Matsumoto and Maejima 2010:
Matsumoto, S. and T. Maejima. 2010. Several new aspects of the foraging behavior of Osmia cornifrons in an apple orchard. Psyche: 1ndash;6.).

Nesting behavior 

Osmia cornifrons is a solitary bee that nests in preexisting cavities. In the New WorldNew World:
the Western Hemisphere; especially the continental landmass of North and South America
, nests can be found in reeds, bamboo, holes within trees, insect borings in dead wood, and hollow stems, and in the Old WorldOld World:
the part of the world that was known before the discovery of the Americas, comprised of Europe, Asia, and Africa; the Eastern Hemisphere
, nests can be found in cracks in bark, and cracks or crevices in rock (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.). Nests cells are constructed of mud and leaf pulp (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.). O. cornifrons will forage up to 130 m from the nesting site (Kitamura 1974).

Distribution

Osmia cornifrons is native to eastern Asia and has been found in Japan and Korea as well as the southeast coast of Russia (Yasumatsu and Hirashima 1950Yasumatsu and Hirashima 1950:
Yasumatsu, K. and Hirashima, Y. 1950. Revision of the genus Osmia of Japan and Korea (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Mushi (Fukuoka) 21: 1ndash;18.). O. cornifrons was intentionally introduced to the eastern U.S. from Japan in the 1970s to increase crop pollination (Batra 1979Batra 1979:
Batra, S.W.T. 1979. Osmia cornifrons and Pithitis smaragdula, two Asian bees introduced into the United States for crop pollination. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.). In the U.S., O. cornifrons can be found on the East Coast and the Midwest (GBIF 2019bGBIF 2019b:
GBIF.org. 11 July 2019. GBIF Occurrence Download. https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.lw8pwz).

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

References

Batra, S.W.T. 1979. Osmia cornifrons and Pithitis smaragdula, two Asian bees introduced into the United States for crop pollination. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

GBIF.org. 11 July 2019. GBIF Occurrence Download ttps://doi.org/10.15468/dl.lw8pwz.

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

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. pedicornisCockerell. 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. 

Matsumoto, S. and T. Maejima. 2010. Several new aspects of the foraging behavior of Osmia cornifrons in an apple orchard. Psyche: 1-6.

Quest, M. 2009. Arbestand, okologie und habitatwahl von bienen ausgewahlter offenlebensraume im lazovski zapovednik (ferner osten russland). Entomofauna (ansfelden), supplement 15: 1-357.

Rust, R.W. 1974. The sytematics and biology of the genus Osmia, Chalcosmia, and Cephalosmia. Wasmann Journal of Biology 32: 1-93.

Wu, Y. 2006. Hymenoptera: Megachilidae. Fauna Sinica, Insecta: 44: 1-474.

Yasumatsu, K. and Hirashima, Y. 1950. Revision of the genus Osmia of Japan and Korea (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Mushi (Fukuoka) 21: 1-18.