Top Results for Osmia

The blue orchard mason bee, scientifically known as Osmia lignaria, is a solitary bee species native to North America. It is recognized by its dark metallic blue or black coloring and its habit of building nests in existing cavities, such as hollow plant stems or holes in wood. The bee is a highly e...

Osmia cornifrons, commonly known as the hornfaced bee, is a species of mason bee found primarily in Japan. It’s notable for its effectiveness as a pollinator, particularly within orchard environments like apple farms. Introduced to the United States in the 1970s, this solitary bee is valuable for ag...

The spined mason bee (Osmia spinulosa) is a solitary bee of the family Megachilidae native to Europe, associated with dry grasslands and open habitats. Females are distinctive among bees for nesting inside empty snail shells, provisioning each brood cell with pollen and nectar before sealing it with...

Osmia calaminthae, commonly known as the blue calamintha bee, is a species of mason bee described as new to science in 2011. It is endemic to the Lake Wales Ridge region of Florida, where it forages on the flowers of Ashe's calamint (Calamintha ashei), a threatened plant in the mint family. The bee...

Osmia cornuta, commonly known as the horned hornet bee, is a species of solitary mason bee found across Europe. This bee’s distinctive horn-like projection on its head aids in nest construction within pre-existing cavities like wood or clay. Its early emergence makes it valuable for pollinating orch...

Osmia ribifloris, commonly known as the blueberry bee, is a solitary mason bee native to North America. This insect is specifically utilized in commercial agriculture for its ability to pollinate blueberry crops efficiently. Unlike social honey bees, these solitary bees do not form hives but instead...

Osmia cornifrons, commonly called the Japanese hornfaced bee, is a solitary mason bee native to eastern Asia. It was introduced into the United States during the 1970s for orchard pollination and is used particularly with apples and other spring flowering fruit trees. Females nest in existing narrow...

Osmia bicornis, commonly called the red mason bee, is an extant species native to Europe. It’s a solitary bee known for its efficient pollination of fruit orchards, particularly apples and pears. The bee constructs nests within pre-existing cavities like hollow stems or artificial nesting blocks. Th...

Osmia avosetta, also known as the Violet Mason Bee, is a solitary bee species originating in Asia. It’s notable for building nests composed solely of meticulously arranged flower petals, primarily from violets and other blossoms. This unique nesting behavior provides protection for its larvae. The b...

Osmia xanthomelana is a solitary species of mason bee native to Europe, first scientifically described by William Kirby in 1802. Unlike many bees that nest in pre-existing cavities or underground, this species is notable for constructing free-standing, exposed nest cells attached to rocks or stones....

Osmia californica is a solitary mason bee native to western North America, notable for its strict preference for collecting pollen exclusively from plants in the Asteraceae family.

Osmia uncinata is a solitary mason bee found across parts of Eurasia. German entomologist Carl Eduard Adolph Gerstäcker first scientifically described the species in 1869. In the United Kingdom, the bee is closely associated with old Caledonian pinewood forests and woodland clearings, where it nests...

Osmia aglaia is a species of mason bee native to western North America, particularly found in coastal regions from California to British Columbia. These solitary bees have distinctive metallic blue-green coloration and emerge in late spring to early summer. Unlike honeybees, they do not produce hone...

Osmia ribifloris is a solitary mason bee native to western North America. It nests in existing cavities rather than living in large social colonies, and females construct and provision their own brood cells. The species commonly gathers pollen from manzanita and other shrubs in the heath family, and...

Osmia bicolor is a species of mason bee native to Europe, belonging to the family Megachilidae. The insect is distinguished by its specialized nesting behavior, wherein females seek out empty snail shells to lay their eggs and provision them with pollen. After depositing an egg, the female carefully...

Osmia maritima is a solitary mason bee described by Friese in 1885, notable for its northern coastal distribution across parts of the Holarctic.

Osmia caerulescens, commonly known as the blue mason bee, is a solitary insect species belonging to the Megachilidae family. It is widely distributed across Europe and North America, thriving in temperate environments ranging from urban gardens to woodland edges. The species is easily distinguished...

Osmia leaiana is a solitary species of mason bee belonging to the family Megachilidae. It is widely distributed across Europe and plays a significant ecological role as a pollinator of various wildflowers and garden plants. Unlike some other mason bees that use mud, this species is specifically know...

Osmia chalybea, the gold-fringed mason bee, is an Old World solitary pollinator distinguishable by the golden fringes of hair on its abdomen and its preference for nesting in wood.

Osmia inermis is a species of solitary mason bee belonging to the family Megachilidae. Initially described by the entomologist Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt in 1838, the insect has a Holarctic distribution and is primarily found across northern Eurasia and parts of North America. It is specifically adap...

Osmia aurulenta is a solitary mason bee species widespread across Europe, easily recognized by its distinctive nesting behavior. Unlike other bees that dig burrows or use plant stems, females of this species exclusively build their nests inside the empty shells of terrestrial snails. The bee partiti...

Osmia niveata is a European species of solitary mason bee in the family Megachilidae, described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1804. It is included in modern European wild-bee checklists and is recorded by bee-survey organizations as a member of the Osmia genus. Like other mason bees, it nests with...

Osmia coloradensis is a solitary mason bee native to western North America, notable for its adaptation to high-altitude alpine environments and foraging on late-summer wildflowers.

Osmia bucephala is a North American solitary bee in the family Megachilidae, commonly called the large-headed mason bee or bufflehead mason bee. It belongs to Osmia, a genus whose females typically provision nests in pre-existing cavities such as dead wood or hollow plant stems, partitioning cells w...

Osmia chalybea is a solitary mason bee species found in North America. It is distinguished by a dark metallic blue body and belongs to Osmia, a genus whose females generally use cavities or other small spaces for nesting and provision their offspring with collected pollen. The species is relevant to...

Osmia marginata is a solitary mason bee in the family Megachilidae and is native to North America rather than Europe. It was described by Charles D. Michener in 1936 and is associated with arid regions of the southwestern United States, including parts of California, Nevada, and Utah. Its nesting bi...

Osmia atriventris is a solitary bee commonly known as the Maine blueberry bee. It is a native North American pollinator associated particularly with blueberry flowers, and research and extension programs have examined its value in blueberry and cranberry production. Females carry pollen on the under...

Osmia integra is a solitary mason bee native to North America. It emerges in late spring and is associated with pollination of native woodland plants. As a solitary bee, it does not live in a permanent eusocial colony like honey bees; its significance is instead tied to its individual nesting and po...

Osmia nigrifrons is a North American mason bee in the family Megachilidae. It was described by Ezra Townsend Cresson in 1878 and belongs to the genus Osmia, whose members are solitary bees that generally nest in cavities or other enclosed spaces. NatureServe records a strong association with plants...