Anthidium atripoides

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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 integument and cream or yellow-colored maculations (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013). Females have black scopa and pubescence on their legs and white pubescence throughout the rest of their body. Females range in body length from 8.5–11.5 mm (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013). Males have black and white pubescence on their legs and primarily white pubescence throughout the rest of their body. Males range in body length from 9.2–11.5 mm (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013).

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Gonzalez and Griswold 2013)

• Female clypeus with a thick apical margin.
• Female fore basitarsus is covered with long, semi-erect, unbranched hairs along the outer margin as well as short tomentum.
• Female hind tibia without anterior carina.
• Female labrum without basal protuberances.
• Female mandible has five teeth.
• Female T3–T5 have depressed marginal zones that are weakly punctate and lack smooth, shiny distal margins.
• Male S4 median apical brush broad, straight, and black.
• Male S6 has a low or absent lateral lobe.
• Male S6 apex of median lobe truncate.
• Male S8 is shallowly bifid on the apex.

May be confused with

Anthidium atripoides may be confused with A. atripes based on similar body size, black pubescence on the leg of females, the sparsely punctate depressed marginal zone the terga, and S6 lacking a distinct lateral lobe (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013). Female A. atripoides can be differentiated from A. atripes by the less dense tomentum on the fore basitarsus and the thick apical margin of the clypeus in A. atripoides (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013). Male A. atripoides can be differentiated from A. atripes by the presence of a straight, rather than concave, margin of S4, and the lack of an apical emargination on the median lobe on S6 in A. atripoides (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013). Additionally, A. atripoides have a shinier abdominal integument 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 2013).

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 2013).

Nesting behavior

Nesting behavior is unknown.

Distribution

Anthidium atripoides occur in the western U.S. in Nevada, Utah, and western Colorado (Gonzalez and Griswold 2013). 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.