Osmia pedicornis

• previous
 
• next

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Osmiini
Genus: Osmia Panzer, 1806
Subgenus: O. (Osmia) Panzer, 1806
Species: Osmia pedicornis Cockerell, 1919
Common name: none

Overview

Osmia pedicornis are black bees with a slightly blue or green luster to the thorax and abdomen (Wu 2006). Females have long, upright, white hair mixed with black and brown long hairs on the head; the scutum has intermixed black and yellow-brown hairs; and the episternum has primarily pale hair (Fig 2). T1–T2 have yellow-brown hair, and T3–T5 have dark brown or black hair (Wu 2006). Males have dull yellowish hair with a mixture of black on the head, thorax, and legs (Yasumatsu and Hirashima 1950). Female body length is 15–17 mm, and male body length is 10–11 mm (Wu 2006). O. pedicornis is used commercially as an apple tree pollinator in Japan (Kitamura and Maeta 1969).

Diagnostic characteristics 

(modified from Wu 2006)

• Mouthparts much smaller than the length of the entire body when extended.
• Terga without apical hair bands.
• Female clypeus with two lateral projections that are bifid apically and two median apical projections.
• Female gena 1.5 times wider than the eye in lateral view.
• Female scopa orange-yellow.
• Male S2 very large, usually covering S3 to S5.
• Male T6 without median apical emargination.
• Male T7 usually apically rounded or truncate, sometimes slightly concave medially.

May be confused with 

Osmia pedicornis look similar to O. rufina and O. bicornis. Females of these species all have lateral horns and bidentate median apical projection on the clypeus. O. pedicornis can be differentiated by the bifurcate apex of the lateral horns of the clypeus. Males are similar in size and hair color and can be difficult to distinguish without dissecting them to see the genitalia and hidden sterna. They can, however, be distinguished by the shape of S8 and the apex of the gonocoxites.

Phenology

Osmia pedicornis adults have been recorded in flight between March and June with the majority of specimens recorded through April and May (GBIF 2019f).

Host associations 

Osmia pedicornis collect pollen from flowers that produce little to no nectar (Quest 2009). O. pedicornis is known to be a generalist, collecting pollen from Rosaceae, Geraniaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Elaeagnaceae, and Fabaceae (Quest 2009).

Nesting behavior 

Osmia pedicornis nests can be found in cracks within bark or rotten wood, crevices between twigs and stalks, under stones, or inside cracks in soil (Maeta 1978). Nesting habit will be typified by the abundance of nesting sites; cell partitions and plugs are composed of leaf pulp or mud (Maeta 1978). O. pedicornis will forage up to 700 meters from their nesting site (Maeta 1978).

Distribution

Osmia pedicornis specimens have been recorded in eastern China and Japan (Yasumatsu and Hirashima 1950). O. pedicornis known habitats are coastal meadows (Quest 2009).

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