Osmia niveata (Fabricius)

Osmia niveata (Fabricius), syn. Osmia fulviventris (Panzer)

Description.

Small dark bee (total length 8-10 mm; wing length 7-8 mm in females and 6-7 mm in males) with conspicuous orange red pollen collecting brushes on the underside of the abdomen (Fig. 9h).

General distribution.

Madeira, West Palaearctic.

Distribution in the Azores.

Probably São Miguel and Terceira (see below).

First record.

1865 (Godman 1870).

Nesting.

Probably in existing cavities in wood or stone but no observations from the Azores available.

Social behaviour.

Solitary.

Foraging.

Oligolectic on Asteraceae, with preference for thistles and relatives (Scheuchl and Willner 2016) but no foraging observations from the Azores available.

Phenology.

Unknown.

Material.

No specimens seen/known to us.

Note.

Records of Osmia emarginaria St. Farg from São Miguel and Terceira (Godman 1870) most likely refer to this species.