Osmia cyrenaica

Taxonomy

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

Overview

Osmia (Osmia) cyrenaica is a largely unknown species, known only from the male holotype. O. cyrenaica are black bees with a copper gloss to the abdomen. The head has blackish hair, and the thorax and abdomen have rusty yellow to red hairs. Male body length is between 11–14 mm (Peters 1978). O. cyrenaica is named after the Libyan coastal town Cyrenaica where specimens used to describe the species were collected (Peters 1978).

Diagnostic characteristics

(from Peters 1978)

Gena half as long or smaller than width of eye.
Mouthparts much smaller than the length of the entire body when extended.
Penis valves sharply pointed apically.
Proboscis short, not reaching beyond the thorax in repose.
S6 with a clear gradulus basally.
T2–T4 entirely pale, without any mixture of dark hair.

May be confused with

Osmia cyrenaica are similar to O. rufa in size, hair coloration, antennal length, and width of the gena. These species can be distinguished by each other by the shape of the penis valves, which often require dissection to view. O. cyrenaica has penis valves that are sharply pointed apically, and O. rufa has penis valves that are relatively rounded (Peters 1978).

Phenology

Osmia cyrenaica flight time is unknown since this species is rarely collected. The specimen described by Peters (1978) was collected near the end of March.

Host associations

unknown

Nesting behavior