Anthidium manicatum

Anthidium manicatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Megachilidae
Genus: Anthidium
Species: A. manicatum
Binomial name
Anthidium manicatum
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms

See text

Anthidium manicatum, common name European wool carder bee,[1] is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae, the leaf-cutter bees or mason bees.[2]

They get the name 'carder' from their behaviour of scraping hair from leaves[3] such as lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina). They carry this hair bundled beneath their bodies to be used as a nest lining.[4]

Contents

Description

Anthidium manicatum is an Old World bee. It has a wingspan of approximately 20 millimetres (0.79 in), with a body length of about 11–13 mm (0.43–0.51 in) for females, and 14–17 mm (0.55–0.67 in) for males.[5] This bee is mostly black and yellow, with some orange fur. There are also some yellow markings present on the legs and sides of the abdomen.[4] The males are substantially larger than females.[1]

Distribution

Anthidium manicatum is found in parts of Europe, Asia, North Africa, and North America. It has also recently been documented in the Canary Islands, and South American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.[6] .[7]

This insect was accidentally introduced into the United States from Europe sometime prior to 1963, when it was discovered in New York State.[8] It has since spread from the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada across the United States to California, where it was first collected in 2007.[9]

In Europe, this species is normally found in gardens, fields, and meadows in the southern part of Wales and England, but is localized in other places within the United Kingdom,[4] where they can be seen from May to September.[4] It is the only species of Anthidium to be found in England.

Habitat

They live in disturbed habitats, and nest in cavities in rotting wood, and walls.[1][4]

Behaviour

Males are highly aggressive against other males of this species, as well as other visitors to the flowers in its territory.[1] They will also defend Anthidium manicatum females,[7] although they do harass them by holding them immobile and repeatedly attempting to mate.[2]

Females collect "down" from such plants as lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina). They scrape the hairs from the leaves and carry them back to their nests bundled beneath their bodies. There it is used as a lining for their nest cavities.[1][10] Both males and females hover near flowers similar to flies in the Syrphidae family.

Anthidium manicatum are leaf-cutters and use leaves and petals from various ornamental plants such as roses, azaleas, ash, redbud, and bougainvillea. They use the leaf and petal segments to construct their nests.[2]

Diet

Anthidium manicatum consumes the pollen from flowers of varying families. They are thus considered to be generalists. They visit garden flowers and weeds preferring blue flowers that have long throats[1] with Old World origins.[1]

Subspecies

Synonyms

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Species Anthidium manicatum – European Wool Carder Bee – BugGuide.Net
  2. ^ a b c Wool Carder Bee / Leafcutting Bee – Anthidium manicatum
  3. ^ Anthidium manicatum – Wool Carder Bee, Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society
  4. ^ a b c d e Wool Carder Bees – Anthidium manicatum – UK Safari
  5. ^ Anthidium manicatum (Linnaeus, 1758), Discover Life
  6. ^ http://moure.cria.org.br/catalogue?id=11895
  7. ^ a b L. L. Pechuman (1967). "Observations on the behavior of the bee Anthidium manicatum (L.)". Journal of the New York Entomological Society 75 (2): 68–73. JSTOR 25006048. 
  8. ^ http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/news/woolcarderbee.html
  9. ^ Anthidium manicatum – Definition and Scientific Information – Page 1
  10. ^ Anthidium manicatum – Wool Carder Bee

Further reading

External links