Pseudoanthidium rozeni

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Anthidiini
Genus: PseudoanthidiumFriese 1898
Subgenus: PseudoanthidiumFriese 1898
Species: Pseudoanthidium rozeni Griswold and Burrows, 2021

Background

Pseudoanthidium rozeni are relatively small, 7–9 mm bees. They have predominantly black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
with symmetrical yellow spots on their face, tergaterga:
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
, and scutellumscutellum:
shield shaped plate behind scutum
. Their legs are predominantly yellow to orange, sometimes with a small amount of black at the base. The size of the yellow portions varies within the species. They have a thin coat of white pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
that covers most of their bodies. Their wings are translucent and sometimes slightly brown.

Distribution

Pseudoanthidium rozeni are known from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan (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.
).

Host associations

Floral associations are unknown.

Nesting behavior

Little is known about the nesting biology of Pseudoanthidium rozeni but most species of Pseudoanthidium nest in pre-existing cavities like 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.
  Pseudoanthidium rozeni nbsp;female face, photo: Brooke Bagot

Pseudoanthidium rozeni female face, photo: Brooke Bagot

  Pseudoanthidium rozeni nbsp;female lateral habitus, photo: Brooke Bagot

Pseudoanthidium rozeni female lateral habitus, photo: Brooke Bagot

  Pseudoanthidium rozeni nbsp;female abdomen, photo: Brooke Bagot

Pseudoanthidium rozeni female abdomen, photo: Brooke Bagot

  Pseudoanthidium rozeni nbsp;male face, photo: Brooke Bagot

Pseudoanthidium rozeni male face, photo: Brooke Bagot

  Pseudoanthidium rozeni nbsp;male lateral habitus, photo: Brooke Bagot

Pseudoanthidium rozeni male lateral habitus, photo: Brooke Bagot

  Pseudoanthidium rozeni nbsp;male abdomen, photo: Brooke Bagot

Pseudoanthidium rozeni male abdomen, photo: Brooke Bagot