Haetosmia

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Osmiini
Genus: Haetosmia Popov, 1952
Subgenera: none
Common name: none

Overview

Haetosmia are robust, black bees with dense white or pale hairs covering much of their bodies, and a spherical thorax. They range in body length from 5–7 mm (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Diversity

Haetosmia contains 6 species worldwide (Müller and Griswold 2017); none are known to occur in the U.S. or Canada (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.)

• Arolia present.
• Metanotum metanotum:
  the posterior dorsal segment of the thorax, behind the scutellum
  sloping abruptly so that it faces the posterior.
• Parapsidal lines long (half as long as tegulategula:
  the usually oval, small shield-like structure carried at the extreme base of the wing where it attaches to the body
  or longer).
• Pronotal lobe pronotal lobe:
  a part of the pronotum located dorsally on the posterior margin of the pronotum and overlaps the anterior thoracic spiracle
  with erect lamellalamella:
  thin, plate-like, often somewhat translucent structure
  .
• Stigma stigma:
  a pigmented/ thickened spot on the costal margin of the forewing, usually at the end of the radius(Greek, stigma= mark)
  twice as long as broad or more.
• T1 without distinct carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  between dorsaldorsal:
  in general, the upper surface
  and anterioranterior:
  toward the head or on the head side of a segment being described
  surfaces.
• Female front basitarsibasitarsi:
  the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
  flattened and broad, as broad as the tibiatibia:
  the segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
  .
• Females with modified, long, capitatecapitate:
  ending in a large club shape supported by a long, slender stem; generally used to describe the shape of the final antennal segments
  bristles on labial palpipalpi:
  sensory appendages part of the labium and maxilla
  .
• Male S2S2:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  enlarged, covering most of S3S3:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  .
• Male S6S6:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  without basalbasal:
  originating at the foundation of a structure
  flaps.
• Male T6T6:
  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 laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  teeth present.
• 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
  broadly truncatetruncate:
  ending abruptly, or squared off
  .

May be confused with

Haetosmia may be confused with Hoplitis due to their superficially similar appearance; however, females do not have modified bristles on the labial palpslabial palps:
one of the pair of jointed, sensory structures carried on the labium of the mouth parts
or dorsally bulging 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
in males (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Host associations

All three species of Haetosmia are most likely specialized on Heliotropium (Boraginaceae) (Gotlieb et al. 2014Gotlieb et al. 2014:
Gotlieb, A., G. Pisanty, J.G. Rozen Jr., A. Muuml;ller, G. Rouml;der, C. Sedivy, and C. Praz. 2014. Nests, floral preferences, and immatures of the bee Haetosmia vechti (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae: Osmiini). American Museum Novitates 3803: 1ndash;20.). The second segment of the labial palp possesses modified spoon-shaped bristles that assist females in extracting pollen from the narrow flowers (Gotlieb et al. 2014Gotlieb et al. 2014:
Gotlieb, A., G. Pisanty, J.G. Rozen Jr., A. Muuml;ller, G. Rouml;der, C. Sedivy, and C. Praz. 2014. Nests, floral preferences, and immatures of the bee Haetosmia vechti (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae: Osmiini). American Museum Novitates 3803: 1ndash;20.).

Nesting behavior

The overall nesting habits of Haetosmia are not well known. Haetosmia vechti, H. circumventa, and H. brachyura nest underground by excavating burrows into sandy soil (Gotlieb et al. 2014Gotlieb et al. 2014:
Gotlieb, A., G. Pisanty, J.G. Rozen Jr., A. Muuml;ller, G. Rouml;der, C. Sedivy, and C. Praz. 2014. Nests, floral preferences, and immatures of the bee Haetosmia vechti (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae: Osmiini). American Museum Novitates 3803: 1ndash;20.; Müller 2018b). Urn-shaped cells are built in clusters or a linear series out of masticated leaf pulp mixed with small pebbles and sand grains (Gotlieb et al. 2014Gotlieb et al. 2014:
Gotlieb, A., G. Pisanty, J.G. Rozen Jr., A. Muuml;ller, G. Rouml;der, C. Sedivy, and C. Praz. 2014. Nests, floral preferences, and immatures of the bee Haetosmia vechti (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae: Osmiini). American Museum Novitates 3803: 1ndash;20.).

Distribution

Haetosmia can be found in the Canary Islands, southern Morocco, Kenya, Egypt, Israel, Iran, western Pakistan, and central Asia (including Uzbekistan) (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

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

References

Gotlieb, A., G. Pisanty, J.G. Rozen Jr., A. Müller, G. Röder, C. Sedivy, and C. Praz. 2014. Nests, floral preferences, and immatures of the bee Haetosmia vechti (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae: Osmiini). American Museum Novitates 3803:1-20.

Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.

Müller, A. 2016. Palaearctic Osmiine Bees. ETH Zürich, http://blogs.ethz.ch/osmiini.

Müller, A. and T.L. Griswold. 2017. Osmiine bees of the genus Haetosmia (Megachilidae, Osmiini): biology, taxonomy, and key to species. Zootaxa 4358(2): 361-364.