Pseudoanthidium bytinskii

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Anthidiini
Genus: Pseudoanthidium, Friese 1898
Subgenus: Pseudoanthidium, Friese 1898
Species: Pseudoanthidium bytinskii Mavromoustakis, 1948

Background

Pseudoanthidium bytinskii are medium to small, 9 – 10 mm bees. They have black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
with extensive yellow markings on their head, thorax, legs, and abdomen. They have thin white pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
that covers their body (Warncke 1980Warncke 1980:
Warncke, K. 1980. Die Bienengattung Anthidium Fabricius, 1804 in der Westpalaarktis und im turkestanischen Becken. Entomofauna 1: 119ndash;210.).

Distribution

Pseudoanthidium bytinskii is known from South Israel (Warncke 1980Warncke 1980:
Warncke, K. 1980. Die Bienengattung Anthidium Fabricius, 1804 in der Westpalaarktis und im turkestanischen Becken. Entomofauna 1: 119ndash;210.).

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

Host associations

Floral associations are unknown.

Diagnostic characteristics

• Axilla axilla:
  the triangular or rounded point on the thorax where thoracic muscles meet the forewing of an insect
  spined.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  seven-toothed.
• 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
  with broad 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
  .

May be confused with

The spined axillaaxilla:
the triangular or rounded point on the thorax where thoracic muscles meet the forewing of an insect
of Pseudoanthidium bytinskii make it easily distinguishable from other P. (Pseudoanthidium).

Nesting behavior

Little is known about the nesting biology of Pseudoanthidium bytinskii but most species of Pseudoanthidium nest in pre-existing cavities in wood, stems, galls or crevices (Litman et al. 2021Litman et al. 2021:
Litman, J. R., Fateryga, A. V., Griswold, T. L., Aubert, M., Proshchalykin, M. Y., Le Divelec, R., Burrows, S. & Praz, C. J. 2022. Paraphyly and low levels of genetic divergence in morphologically distinct taxa: revision of the Pseudoanthidium scapulare complex of carder bees (Apoidea: Megachilidae: Anthidiini). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 195(4): 1287-1337.).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.