Anthidium manicatum
Encyclopedia
Anthidium manicatum, common name European wool carder bee, is a species of bee
in the family Megachilidae
, the leaf-cutter bees or mason bee
s.
They get the name 'carder
' from their behaviour of scraping hair from leaves such as lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina
). They carry this hair bundled beneath their bodies to be used as a nest lining.
bee. It has a wingspan of approximately 20 millimetre (0.78740157480315 in), with a body length of about 11 millimetre for females, and 14 millimetre for males. This bee is mostly black and yellow, with some orange fur. There are also some yellow markings present on the legs and sides of the abdomen
. The males are substantially larger than females.
, Asia
, North Africa
, and North America
. It has also recently been documented in the Canary Islands
, and South America
n countries such as Argentina
, Brazil
, Paraguay
, and Uruguay
.
.
This insect was accidentally introduced into the United States
from Europe sometime prior to 1963, when it was discovered in New York State. It has since spread from the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada across the United States to California, where it was first collected in 2007.
In Europe, this species is normally found in gardens, fields, and meadows in the southern part of Wales
and England
, but is localized in other places within the United Kingdom
, where they can be seen from May to September. It is the only species of Anthidium
to be found in England
.
Females collect "down" from such plants as lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina
). They scrape the hairs from the leaves and carry them back to their nests bundled beneath their bodies. There it is used as a lining for their nest cavities. Both males and females hover near flowers similar to flies in the Syrphidae family.
Anthidium manicatum are leaf-cutters and use leaves and petals from various ornamental plants such as roses
, azaleas, ash, redbud, and bougainvillea
. They use the leaf and petal segments to construct their nests.
. They are thus considered to be generalists
. They visit garden flowers and weeds preferring blue flowers that have long throats with Old World origins.
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
in the family Megachilidae
Megachilidae
The Megachilidae are a cosmopolitan family of solitary bees whose pollen-carrying structure is restricted to the ventral surface of the abdomen...
, the leaf-cutter bees or mason bee
Mason bee
Mason bee is a common name for species of bees in the genus Osmia, of the family Megachilidae. They are named from their habit of making compartments of mud in their nests, which are made in hollow reeds or holes in wood made by wood boring insects....
s.
They get the name 'carder
Carding
Carding is a mechanical process that breaks up locks and unorganised clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres so that they are more or less parallel with each other. The word is derived from the Latin carduus meaning teasel, as dried vegetable teasels were first used to comb the raw wool...
' from their behaviour of scraping hair from leaves such as lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina
Stachys byzantina
Stachys byzantina is a species of Stachys, native to Turkey, Armenia, and Iran. It is cultivated over much of the temperate world as an ornamental plant, and is naturalised in some locations as an escape from gardens...
). They carry this hair bundled beneath their bodies to be used as a nest lining.
Description
Anthidium manicatum is an Old WorldOld World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
bee. It has a wingspan of approximately 20 millimetre (0.78740157480315 in), with a body length of about 11 millimetre for females, and 14 millimetre for males. This bee is mostly black and yellow, with some orange fur. There are also some yellow markings present on the legs and sides of the abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
. The males are substantially larger than females.
Distribution
Anthidium manicatum is found in parts of EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It has also recently been documented in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n countries such as Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
.
.
This insect was accidentally introduced into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Europe sometime prior to 1963, when it was discovered in New York State. It has since spread from the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada across the United States to California, where it was first collected in 2007.
In Europe, this species is normally found in gardens, fields, and meadows in the southern part of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, but is localized in other places within the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where they can be seen from May to September. It is the only species of Anthidium
Anthidium
Anthidium is a genus of bees often called mason or potter bees, who use conifer resin, plant hairs, mud, or a mix of them to build nests. They are in the family Megachilidae which is cosmopolitan in distribution and made up of species that are mostly solitary bees with pollen-carrying scopea that...
to be found in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Behaviour
Males are highly aggressive against other males of this species, as well as other visitors to the flowers in its territory. They will also defend Anthidium manicatum females, although they do harass them by holding them immobile and repeatedly attempting to mate.Females collect "down" from such plants as lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina
Stachys byzantina
Stachys byzantina is a species of Stachys, native to Turkey, Armenia, and Iran. It is cultivated over much of the temperate world as an ornamental plant, and is naturalised in some locations as an escape from gardens...
). They scrape the hairs from the leaves and carry them back to their nests bundled beneath their bodies. There it is used as a lining for their nest cavities. Both males and females hover near flowers similar to flies in the Syrphidae family.
Anthidium manicatum are leaf-cutters and use leaves and petals from various ornamental plants such as roses
Roses
Roses is a municipality in the comarca of the Alt Empordà in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast at the northern end of the Gulf of Roses, and is an important fishing port and tourist centre. The C-260 road links the town with Figueres....
, azaleas, ash, redbud, and bougainvillea
Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plants native to South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina . Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus...
. They use the leaf and petal segments to construct their nests.
Diet
Anthidium manicatum consumes the pollen from flowers of varying familiesFamily (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. They are thus considered to be generalists
Generalist and specialist species
A generalist species is able to thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and can make use of a variety of different resources . A specialist species can only thrive in a narrow range of environmental conditions or has a limited diet. Most organisms do not all fit neatly into either...
. They visit garden flowers and weeds preferring blue flowers that have long throats with Old World origins.
Subspecies
- Anthidium manicatum var. nigrithorax Dalla Torre, 1877
- Anthidium manicatum var. fasciatum Schirmer, 1915
- Anthidium manicatum var. nasicolle Friese, 1917
- Anthidium manicatum var. luteum homonym Gribodo, 1925
- Anthidium manicatum subcrenulata Alfken, 1930
- Anthidium (Anthidium) manicatum cyrenaica homonym Van der Zanden, 1992
- Anthidium manicatum gribodoi Schwarz & Gusenleitner, 2003
- Anthidium (Anthidium) manicatum barbarum Lepeletier, 1841
Synonyms
- Apis manicata Linnaeus, 1758
- Apis pervigil Harris, 1776
- Apis maculata Fabricius, 1781
- Apis fulvipes homonym de Villers, 1789
- Apis modesta Christ, 1791
- Apis amoenita Christ, 1791
- Apis uncata Schrank, 1802
- Anthidium maculatum Latreille, 1806
- Anthidium marginatum Latreille, 1809
- Anthidium obtusatum Lepeletier, 1841
- Anthidium barbarum Lepeletier, 1841
- Anthidium productum Lepeletier, 1841
- Anthidium manicatum var nigrithorax Dalla Torre, 1877
- Anthidium manicatum var fasciatum Schirmer, 1915
- Anthidium manicatum var nasicolle Friese, 1917
- Anthidium manicatum var luteus homonym Gribodo, 1924
- Anthidium manicatum subcrenulata Alfken, 1930
- Anthidium Anthidium manicatum cyrenaica homonym van der Zanden, 1992
- Anthidium manicatum gribodoi Schwarz and Gusenleitner, 2003
- Anthidium Anthidium manicatum barbarum Lepeletier, 1841