Ochreriades is a suprageneric lineage within Megachilidae. This genus can be considered the sister lineage "to a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

consisting of the “core”

Osmiini Osmiini is a tribe of leafcutter, mason, and resin bees in the family Megachilidae. There are about 19 genera and at least 1,000 described species in Osmiini. Genera * '' Afroheriades'' Peters, 1970 * '' Ashmeadiella'' Cockerell, 1897 * '' Atopo ...

, the tribe

Megachilini Megachilini is a tribe of leaf-cutter and resin bees. The Megachilini is the most speciose tribe within Megachilidae, comprising four genera: ''Coelioxys'' Latreille, ''Megachile'' Latreille, ''Noteriades'' Cockerell and ''Radoszkowskiana'' Popo ...

and the genera ''Pseudoheriades''and ''Afroheriades."''Litman, Jessica. "Phylogenetic Systematics And The Evolution Of Nesting Behavior, Host-Plant Preference, And Cleptoparasitism In The Bee Family Megachilidae (Hymenoptera, Apoidea)." (2012).

Overview

This genus ''Ochreriades'' contains only two species which exhibit a "disjunct geographical distribution": ''Ocheriades fasciatus'' can be found in the deserts of the Middle East while conversely ''Ochreriades rozeni'' is limited to the deserts of southern Africa (in particular Namibia). It "exhibits a number of characters which distinguish it from other osmiines, including the presence of yellow or white integumental markings and an enlarged pronotum which eliminates both the preomaular surface and the anterior surface of the scutum." Over the past decade, phylogenetic analyses have been able to demonstrate that the genus ''Ochreriades'' is not closely related to other osmiines or to any other tribe but rather constitutes a unique lineage. Moreover, a molecular analysis of the tribe Osmiini concluded similarly that ''Ochreriades'' is only distantly related to other osmiines. It is possible to relate ''Ochreriades'' to other osmiines through the similar manifestation of the slender and elongate shape of its body, which is reminiscent of that of the osmiine genera ''

Chelostoma ''Chelostoma'' is a genus of bees in the Osmiini tribe of the family Megachilidae. The genus is divided into 5 subgenera with at least 60 described species. Species These 60 species belong to the genus ''Chelostoma'': * '' Chelostoma aegaeicu ...

'' and ''

Heriades ''Heriades'' is a genus of bee in the family Megachilidae. Fairly small and usually black, they are found all over the world. There are more than 130 species worldwide, roughly 25 species in North and Central America, but only 3 species are nativ ...

''. Like ''Chelostoma'' and ''Heriades'', ''Ochreriades'' "exhibits a long narrow abdomen; in contrast to these two genera, however, ''Ochreriades'' also exhibits an elongate thorax". The likely explanation for the slender, elongate body shape of ''Ochreriades'' is an adaptation to nesting in narrow openings, such as abandoned insect burrows or plant stems.

Nesting biology

''Ochreriades fasciatus'' "nests in beetle burrows in dead wood."Rozen, Jerome G., et al. "Nesting biology, flower preferences, and larval morphology of the little-known Old World bee Ochreriades fasciatus (Apoidea: Megachilidae: Megachilinae)." ''American Museum Novitates'' 2015.3830 (2015): 1-19. Cell partitions and nest plug are made of mud probably under addition of nectar. While the cell partitions exclusively consist of hardened mud, large pebbles are incorporated into the external surface of the nest plug.Müller, A. (2018), Palaearctic Osmiine Bees, ETH Zürich, http://blogs.ethz.ch/osmiini

Flower preferences

''Ochreriades'' exhibits oligolectic behavior with

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4045650 Megachilidae