Megachilid
Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Both that their pollen-carrying structure (called a ''scopa'') is restricted to the ventral surface of the abdomen (rather than mostly or exclusively on the hind legs as in other bee families), and their typically elongated labrum is characteristic of this family.C. D. Michener (2007) ''The Bees of the World'', 2nd Edition, pg. 122, Johns Hopkins University Press. Megachilid genera are most commonly known as mason bees and leafcutter bees, reflecting the materials from which they build their nest cells (soil or leaves, respectively); a few collect plant or animal hairs and fibers, and are called carder bees, while others use plant resins in nest construction and are correspondingly called resin bees. All species feed on nectar and pollen, but a few are kleptoparasites (informally called "cuckoo bees"), feeding on pollen collected by other megachilid bees. Parasitic species do not possess scopae. The motion of Meg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Megachile
The genus ''Megachile'' is a cosmopolitan group of solitary bees, often called leafcutter bees or leafcutting bees; it also includes the called resin bees and mortar bees. While other genera within the family Megachilidae may chew leaves or petals into fragments to build their nests, certain species within ''Megachile'' neatly cut pieces of leaves or petals, hence their common name. This is one of the largest genera of bees, with more than 1500 species in over 50 subgenera. The alfalfa leafcutter bee ('' Megachile rotundata'') is managed on a commercial scale for crop pollination, and has been introduced by humans to various regions around the world. Ecology Nests are sometimes constructed within hollow twigs or other similarly constricted natural cavities, but often are in burrows in the ground. Nests are typically composed of single long columns of cells, the cells being sequentially constructed from the deepest portion of the tunnel outwards. The female places an egg i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anthidium Manicatum
''Anthidium manicatum'', commonly called the European wool carder bee is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae, the leaf-cutter bees or mason bees. They get the name " carder" from their behaviour of scraping hair from leaves such as lamb's ears (''Stachys byzantina''). They carry this hair bundled beneath their bodies to be used as a nest lining. Like other members of the tribe Anthidiini, these bees do not cut leaves or petals as is typical for megachilids. The males engage in territorial behaviour, aggressively chasing other males and pollinators from their territory. This bee is native to Europe, Asia and North Africa. It has recently been seen in regions of South America, New Zealand, and the Canary Islands. They are generalists, and do not seem to prefer any plant genera for foraging, although in New Zealand native plants are visited less frequently by this bee species. It was accidentally introduced into North America from Europe some time in the mid 20th centur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Osmia Lignaria
''Osmia lignaria'', commonly known as the orchard mason bee or blue orchard bee, is a megachilid bee that makes nests in reeds and natural holes, creating individual cells for its brood that are separated by mud dividers. Unlike carpenter bees, it cannot drill holes in wood. ''O. lignaria'' is a common species used for early spring fruit bloom in Canada and the United States, though a number of other ''Osmia'' species are cultured for use in pollination. Native origin ''O. lignaria'' is among 4000 native bee species of North America, and its species is divided by the Rocky Mountains into two subspecies, ''O. l. propinqua'' (western subspecies) and ''O. l. lignaria'' (eastern subspecies). The majority of research has been conducted in western orchards on the western subspecies. Efforts at establishing them outside their native range have met with mixed results. Researchers in one eastern study (Virginia / North Carolina) using the eastern ''O. l. lignaria'' found them to prefer t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Middle Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and end ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jean-Henri Fabre
Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre (21 December 1823 – 11 October 1915) was a French naturalist, entomologist, and author known for the lively style of his popular books on the lives of insects. Biography Fabre was born on 21 December 1823 in Saint-Léons in Aveyron, France. Fabre was largely an autodidact, owing to the poverty of his family. Nevertheless, he acquired a primary teaching certificate at the young age of 19 and began teaching in Carpentras whilst pursuing further studies. In 1849, he was appointed to a teaching post in Ajaccio (Corsica), then in 1853 moved on to the lycée in Avignon. Fabre was a popular teacher, physicist, chemist and botanist. However, he is probably best known for his findings in the field of entomology, the study of insects, and is considered by many to be the father of modern entomology. Much of his enduring popularity is due to his marvellous teaching ability and his manner of writing about the lives of insects in biographical form, which he pr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive purpose. A fruit garden is generally synonymous with an orchard, although it is set on a smaller non-commercial scale and may emphasize berry shrubs in preference to fruit trees. Most temperate-zone orchards are laid out in a regular grid, with a grazed or mown grass or bare soil base that makes maintenance and fruit gathering easy. Most modern commercial orchards are planted for a single variety of fruit. While the importance of introducing biodiversity is recognized in forest plantations, it would seem to be beneficial to introduce some genetic diversity in orchard plantations as well by interspersing other trees through the orchard. Genetic diversity in an orchard would ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alfalfa Leafcutter Bee
''Megachile rotundata'', the alfalfa leafcutting bee, is a European bee that has been introduced to various regions around the world. As a solitary bee species, it does not build colonies or store honey, but is a very efficient pollinator of alfalfa, carrots, other vegetables, and some fruits. Because of this, farmers often use ''M. rotundata'' as a pollination aid by distributing ''M. rotundata'' prepupae around their crops. Each female constructs and provisions her own nest, which is built in old trees or log tunnels. Being a leafcutter bee, these nests are lined with cut leaves. These bees feed on pollen and nectar and display sexual dimorphism. This species has been known to bite and sting, but it poses no overall danger unless it is threatened or harmed, and its sting has been described as half as painful as a honey bee's. Taxonomy and phylogeny ''M. rotundata'' is a member of the subfamily Megachilinae, which includes more than 4,000 bee species; this currently makes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pollination Management
Pollination management is the horticultural practices that accomplish or enhance pollination of a crop, to improve yield or quality, by understanding of the particular crop's pollination needs, and by knowledgeable management of pollenizers, pollinators, and pollination conditions. While people think first of the European honey bee The western honey bee or European honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name ''Apis'' is Latin for "bee", and ''mellifera'' is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", ... when pollination comes up, in fact there are many different means of pollination management that are used, both other insects and other mechanisms. There are other insects commercially available that are more efficient, like the blue orchard bee for fruit and nut trees, local bumblebees better specialized for some other crops, hand pollination that is essential for production of hybrid seeds and some ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chalicodoma
''Chalicodoma'' is a subgenus of the bee genus ''Megachile'' in the family Megachilidae. Species * '' Megachile albocristata'' * ''Megachile albonotata'' * '' Megachile alborufa'' * '' Megachile apennina'' * '' Megachile atrocastanea'' * '' Megachile baetica'' * '' Megachile brunissima'' * '' Megachile canescens'' * ''Megachile cressa'' * '' Megachile creutzburgi'' * '' Megachile desertorum'' * '' Megachile difficilis'' * '' Megachile duala'' * '' Megachile formosa'' * '' Megachile fuerteventurae'' * '' Megachile fulvohirta'' * '' Megachile gessorum'' * ''Megachile heinii'' * '' Megachile hirsuta'' * '' Megachile hungarica'' * '' Megachile imperialis'' * '' Megachile incerta'' * '' Megachile insolita'' * '' Megachile jeanneli'' * '' Megachile karatauensis'' * '' Megachile karooensis'' * '' Megachile kashmirensis'' * '' Megachile ladakhensis'' * '' Megachile lefebvrei'' * ''Megachile leonum'' * '' Megachile lucidifrons'' * '' Megachile magadiensis'' * ''Megachile manicata'' * '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hoplitis
''Hoplitis'' is a genus of bees in the family Megachilidae Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Both that their pollen-carrying structure (called a '' scopa'') is restricted to the ventral surface of the abdomen (rather than mostly or exclusively on the hind legs as in other .... There are more than 380 described species in ''Hoplitis''. See also * List of Hoplitis species References Further reading * * * External links * Megachilidae Bee genera Articles created by Qbugbot {{Megachilidae-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |