''Anthidium florentinum'', one of several European wool carder bees, is a territorial species of
bee in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Megachilidae
Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Characteristic traits of this family are the restriction of their pollen-carrying structure (called a '' scopa'') to the ventral surface of the abdomen (rather than mostly or exclu ...
, the leaf-cutter, carder, or
mason bee
Mason bee is a name now commonly used for species of bees in the genus ''Osmia'', of the family Megachilidae. Mason bees are named for their habit of using mud or other "masonry" products in constructing their nests, which are made in naturally ...
s.
Description
The species is a medium to large bee. Both sexes have a black abdomen bearing two yellow bands on each
tergite
A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; : ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the Anatomical terms of location#Dorsal and ventral, dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The Anatomical terms of location#Anterior ...
. The male can be distinguished by the grey and or whitish hairs on the sides of the abdomen. Females are smaller than males and have pale yellowish
pollen brushes on the underside of the abdomen. The nest is made in a crevice or the abandoned nest of another insect and is lined with chewed plant fibres.
Phenology
In both ''A. florentinum'' in southern France and ''A. manicatum'' in southern Germany, unlike the majority of solitary bees, a study found that there are more females than males, males are bigger than the females, and the sexes fly at the same times of year. P. Wirtz and colleagues suggest that this pattern is explained by the prolonged sexual receptivity of the females, along with the males' use of readily defended resources in their territories.
Pollinator
''A. florentinum'' obtained from Iran was found to be a more efficient
pollinator
A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains.
Insects are ...
of
alfalfa
Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, ...
in the United States than native species.
References
Exotic Bee ID{{Taxonbar, from=Q2709831
florentinum
Hymenoptera of Europe
Insects described in 1775
Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius