Osmia scheherazade

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Osmiini
Genus: Osmia Panzer, 1806
Subgenus: O. (Osmia) Panzer, 1806
Species: Osmia scheherezade Peters, 1978
Common name: none

Overview

Osmia scheherazade are black bees with a slight 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 face and 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 light yellowish-brown-whitish hair. The abdomen has uninterrupted bandsbands:
usually referring to bands of hair or bands of color that traverse across an abdominal segment
of whitish hairs along the apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
margins of T1–T5. The discs of T1–T4 discs are covered with long erect whitish 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 whitish to black hair (Müller 2012). Males are as the female with exception to shorter hair 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
discs (Müller 2012). A distinct feature of O. scheherazade are long mouth parts, which are as long as the entire body when extended (Müller 2012). Female body length is 11.5–13 mm, and male body length is 12–14 mm (Peters 1978Peters 1978:
Peters, D.S. 1978. Systematik und Zoogeographie der west-palauml;arktischen Arten von Osmia Panzer, 1806 s. str., Monosmia Tkalcu, 1974 und Orientosmia n. subgen. (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica (Frankfurt) 58: 287ndash;346.).

Diagnostic characteristics 

(modified from Peters 1978Peters 1978:
Peters, D.S. 1978. Systematik und Zoogeographie der west-palauml;arktischen Arten von Osmia Panzer, 1806 s. str., Monosmia Tkalcu, 1974 und Orientosmia n. subgen. (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica (Frankfurt) 58: 287ndash;346.)

• 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
  .
• Female clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  without laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  horns.
• 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
  white.
• 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
  and 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
  straight, 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
  lacking a hair-filled 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
  .
• 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
  medially emarginateemarginate:
  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 

O. scheherazade looks similar enough to O. maxillaris that it was considered a subspecies of O. maxillaris until it was raised to species status by Müller (2012). The easiest way to distinguish these species is by the shape of 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
, which is more angulateangulate:
forming an angle rather than a curve
and medially emarginateemarginate:
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
in O. scheherazade and entire and evenly convexconvex:
curved outward
in O. maxillaris.

Phenology

unknown

Host associations 

Osmia scheherazade are thought to gather pollen from Fabaceae taxa with deep flower corollas (Müller 2012).

Nesting behavior 

Osmia scheherazade nests in crevices in rocks and abandoned insect borings in dead wood (Müller 2012).

Distribution

Osmia scheherazade specimens have been recorded in southwestern Asia and can be found in Turkey and Iran (Müller 2012).

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

References

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.

Peters, D.S. 1978. Systematik und Zoogeographie der west-paläarktischen Arten von Osmia Panzer, 1806 s. str., Monosmia Tkalcu, 1974 und Orientosmia n. subgen. (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica (Frankfurt) 58: 287-346.