Osmia avosetta

Osmia avosetta
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Megachilidae
Genus: Osmia
Species: O. avosetta
Binomial name
Osmia avosetta
Warncke, 1988

Osmia avosetta is a species of mason bee. It is solitary by nature, and is unique in its use of flower petals to construct nests for its larvae.[1]

The female O. avosetta digs shallow tunnels in the ground consisting of one or two chambers, each of which it then covers with flower petals glued together with mud. It then places larval food in each chamber and seals it with soil and by folding the petals over. The cell hardens to form protection for the larva against predation and weather. This behavior was first observed in 2009, by two research groups working separately in the mountains of Turkey and Iran.[1] Jerome Rozen, curator in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History discovered their nest-building habits while in the field in Turkey. On the same day, another team that was studying the bees in Iran made exactly the same discovery. Both teams co-published their findings.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Holland, Jennifer S. (October 2010), "Flower Beds", National Geographic 218 (6).
  2. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/handle/2246/6043


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