Scissor bees

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Scissor bees
Buttercup scissor bee (Chelostoma florisomne) on a nesting aid

Buttercup scissor bee (Chelostoma florisomne) on a nesting aid

Systematics
Order : Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Superfamily : Apoidea
without rank: Bees (Apiformes)
Family : Megachilidae
Subfamily : Megachilinae
Genre : Scissor bees
Scientific name
Chelostoma
Latreille , 1809

The scissor bees ( Chelostoma ) are a genus of the Megachilidae family . They are stomach collectors , so they have hair on the underside of the abdomen to transport pollen. They are closely related to the genus Osmia and are often regarded as a subgenus of Osmia or (earlier ) counted among the holey bees ( Heriades ). Scissor bees are common with a total of 54 species in the Palearctic and Nearctic , one species is known from the Oriental .

features

The scissor bees (at least the native species) are about 4 to 12 mm long. They are only slightly hairy, black or old and slender. The females have strong, scissor-like mandibles, which give them their German name. The males have ridges and spikes on the underside and the end of the abdomen.

behavior

The scissor bees live solitary and have only one generation a year, they fly in Central Europe from May to August. The males hatch a few days before the females and patrol in search of females on forage plants or near the nests.

All types of scissor bees nest in existing cavities (e.g. beetles' feeding tunnels), in dead wood or hollow stems (partly in stalks of thatched roofs, also in nesting aids). The cell walls and the end are made of clay. Several species use nectar to soften the clay. Small stones and grains of sand are also built into the nest closure. Most species of scissor bees (all native) are oligolectic, i.e. they specialize in certain pollen, only a few species are polylectic.

Systematics

According to A. Müller, the scissor bees are the sister group of the other Osmiini apart from the genus Ocheriades .

The genus Chelostoma is divided into four sub-genera (number of species in brackets): Chelostoma s. st. (14 ), Eochelostoma (1) , Foveosmia (17) , Gyrodromella (8) and Prochelostoma (4) .

Native species

There are eight types in German-speaking countries.

  • Ch. Campanularum (D, A, CH)
  • Ch. Distinctum (D, A, CH)
  • Ch. Emarginatum (A, Ch)
  • Ch. Florisomne (D, A, CH)
  • Ch.foveolatum (CH, A, occurrence in D not certain)
  • Ch. Grande (A, CH), very rare, alpine.
  • Ch. Rapunculi (D, A, CH)
  • Ch. Ventral (A, CH)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Species of solitary bees: Scissor bees (Osmia / Chelostoma). Retrieved June 21, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Palaearctic Osmiine Bees »Genus Chelostoma. Retrieved June 22, 2019 (American English).
  3. ↑ a b c P. Westrich: The wild bees of Germany . E. Ulmer, Stuttgart 2018, p. 185-186, 620-622 .
  4. ↑ a b c Wildbiene.com | The website about wild bee protection. Retrieved June 21, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Chelostoma emarginatum (Nylander, 1856) | Fauna Europaea. Retrieved June 22, 2019 .
  6. ^ Chelostoma ventral Schletterer, 1889 | Fauna Europaea. Retrieved June 22, 2019 .