New state records for the introduced bee species Osmia taurus Smith, 1873 and Osmia cornifrons (Radoszkowski, 1887) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in western North America
- Delphia, Casey M. [ Montana State University: Plant Sciences & Plant Pathology ]
- Gnojewski, Kristin R.
Solitary bees of the genus Osmia Panzer, 1806 (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) are important agricultural pollinators, and several species are commercially managed for fruit tree pollination in the United States. This includes North American natives like the blue orchard mason bee, Osmia lignaria Say, 1837. It also includes introduced, non-natives like Osmia cornifrons (Radoszkowski, 1887), which was intentionally imported to the U.S. from Japan in 1965 to Utah (Rust 1974) and again from Japan in 1978 to Maryland (Batra 1982). Females of both species provision nests in pre-existing cavities, including holes in wood, hollow plant stems, or artificial nesting substrates, and use mud to partition their brood cells (Batra 1982, Cane et al. 2007). Their nest- ing habits have contributed greatly to their successful management as pollinators in agricultural systems.