Osmia maxschwarzi

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Osmiini
Genus: Osmia Panzer, 1806
Subgenus: O. (Osmia) Panzer, 1806
Species: Osmia maxschwarzi Müller, 2012
Common name: none

Overview

Osmia maxschwarzi are bees with a metallic green to blue hue on the abdomen and often a metallic violet luster on the clypeusclypeus:
a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
(Müller 2012). Females have whitish hairs on the head except for light yellowish-brown hair intermixed with black hair on the vertexvertex:
the area between the ocelli and the back of the head
and fronsfrons:
the area between the antennae and ocelli on the bee's head
. The thorax has whitish hairs aside from the scutumscutum:
the large segment on top of the thorax located between the wings and behind the head
, which has light yellow-brown hair with black hairs intermixed. The abdomen has uninterrupted 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
on T1–T5. The discs of T1–T4 are covered with long erect whitish hair with intermixed black hair, and 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 densely covered with appressed whitish to black hair (Müller 2012). Males are as the females except they often lack the blackish hair on the scutumscutum:
the large segment on top of the thorax located between the wings and behind the head
, and T5–T6 have erect blackish hairs, sometimes with white hairs intermixed (Müller 2012). Female body length is 9–10.5 mm, and male body length is 10–11 mm (Müller 2012).

Diagnostic characteristics 

(modified from Müller 2012)

• Mouthparts long, nearly as long as the entire body when extended, and reaching past the thorax in repose.
• 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
  with 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
  .
• Front tibiatibia:
  the segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
  with one apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  spine.
• Tibial spur tibial spur:
  apical projection(s) often found at the apex of the tibia
  of front legs blunt.
• Female ocelliocelli:
  simple light reception organs; bees have three of them at the top of their head
  surrounded by a relatively large impunctateimpunctate:
  marked with punctures or pits
  area.
• Male 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
  with median hair-filled 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 maxschwarzi is looks very similar to O. scheherazade and O. maxillaris, which also have 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
on 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 mouthparts that are as long as the body length (Müller 2012). Female O. maxschwarzi can be differentiated by the more spaced out punctures on the scutumscutum:
the large segment on top of the thorax located between the wings and behind the head
and 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
, the larger impunctateimpunctate:
marked with punctures or pits
area around the ocelliocelli:
simple light reception organs; bees have three of them at the top of their head
, and its overall smaller body size (Müller 2012). Male O. maxschwarzi can be easily distinguished by the distinct hair-filled 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
on 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
, often covered by the expanded 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
, which is not present in the other two species (Müller 2012).

Phenology

unknown

Host associations 

Osmia maxschwarzi is oligolecticoligolectic:
the term used to describe bees that specialize on a narrow range of pollen sources, generally a specific plant genus
on Fabaceae; it is thought to specialize on flowers with deep corollas. (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.).

Nesting behavior 

Nesting behavior is unknown, however, it is suspected to be similar to O. scheherazade which nests in crevices in rocks and insect borings in dead wood (Müller 2012).

Distribution

Osmia maxschwarzi specimens have been recorded from western Turkey to central Iran (Müller 2012).

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

References

Haider, M., Dorn, S., Sedivy, C. and Müller, A. 2014. Phylogeny and floral hosts of a predominantly pollen generalist group of mason bees. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 111: 78–91.

Müller, A. 2012. Osmia (Orientosmia) maxschwarzi sp. n., a new Palaearctic osmiine bee with extraordinarily long mouthparts (Hymenoptera, Apiformes, Megachilidae). Journal of the Swiss Entomological Society 85: 27-35.