''Anthidium florentinum'', one of several European wool carder bees, is a territorial species of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 b ...

, 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 ...

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"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'mar ...

. 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 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 the maj ...

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a 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, and silage, as w ...

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