Osmia (Nasutosmia)

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Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Osmiini
Genus: Osmia Panzer, 1806
Subgenus: Nasutosmia Griswold and Michener, 1998
Common name: none

Overview

Osmia (Nasutosmia) are slender bees that range in body length from 5–6 mm (Michener 2007). They have pale pubescence that sometimes forms narrow apical hair bands on the terga (Michener 2007). Osmia (Nasutosmia) was previously a subgenus of Hoplitis. In 2008, O. (Nasutosmia) was transferred from the genus Hoplitis to Osmia based on phylogenetic findings (Praz et al. 2008)

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Michener 2007)

• Hind coxa with strong longitudinal carina along inner ventral angle.
• Parapsidal lines are linear.
• Female clypeus has a strong, mid-apical projection and orange tufts of hair on the underside.
• Female mandible is robust and four-toothed.
• Male abdomen is commonly curled so that only S1 and S2 are visible.
• Male S6 has transparent inflexed lateral flaps.
• Male T1 is shiny and lacks an angle between the anterior and dorsal surfaces but has a groove.
• Male T6 is simple and has one lateral tooth.
• Male T7 is pointed medially.

May be confused with

Osmia (Nasutosmia) may be confused with species within the subgenus Hoplitis (Alcidamea) due to similar small, slender body shapes, and the smooth, flat T1 with a longitudinal median groove (Michener 2007). Osmia (Nasutosmia) can be differentiated by the lack of a median pit on the male’s T7 and the female having a four-toothed mandible, which is three-toothed in H. (Alcidamea) (Michener 2007).

Host associations

Osmia (Nasutosmia) are most likely specialists on Fabaceae (Müller 2018b).

Nesting behavior

Nesting behavior is unknown.

Diversity

Osmia (Nasutosmia) contains two described species, O. corniculata and O. nasuta, and one undescribed species (Müller 2018b).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Distribution

Osmia (Nasutosmia) can be found in northern Africa, France, and Spain (Michener 2007).

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