Stone bees

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Stone bees
Stone bee, Lithurgus chrysurus

Stone bee, Lithurgus chrysurus

Systematics
Order : Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Superfamily : Apoidea
without rank: Bees (Apiformes)
Family : Megachilidae
Subfamily : Lithurginae
Genre : Stone bees
Scientific name
Lithurgus
Berthold , 1827

The stone bees ( Lithurgus) are a genus of the Megachilidae family , that is, belly collectors. The genus is represented worldwide with 26 species, in the Palearctic there are 7 species, from Germany, Austria and Switzerland only two species are known. The genus has many species in Australia.

features

Stone bees are approx. 8 to 19 mm long, the abdomen is somewhat flattened and mostly has hair ties. In habit, stone bees are similar to leaf cutter bees ( Megachile ). Females have bumps on their foreheads, males a thorn-like end segment.

behavior

Stone bees are basically characterized by the fact that the females drill into wood in order to create their nests in it. This behavior ("carpenter bees") can also be found in the genera Xylocopa , Ceratina and Pithitis (all from the Apidae family ).

The native stone bees have one generation a year and are solitary. They fly in July and August. The females look for dead, very hard wood for their nest, which can also be built in. In the wood they drill holes with their upper jaws with a main passage and two or three side passages, each of which contains a brood cell. The corridors have a diameter of approx. 5 mm. The pollen provisions for the larvae are stored in the brood cells and an egg is placed on top. The brood cells are closed with wood shavings. Old nests can be used again in the coming year. Often the stone bees nest in aggregations. The native species specialize in pollen from asteraceae (knapweeds and thistles). Stone bees in the United States collect pollen from cactus flowers ( Opuntia and Echinocactus ).

Native species

  • Lithurgus chrysurus Fonscolombe 1834 occurs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Males 11 to 13 mm, densely hairy reddish brown. Females 10 to 12 mm, with a shiny black abdomen, narrow white side fringes, the last tergite has orange-red hairs, the belly brush is yellow to reddish. This species has also been introduced into the USA.
  • Lithurgus cornutus (Fabricius, 1787) has been found in Eastern Austria. L. cornutus has recentlyalso been found in Germany (southern Hesse, alluvial forest remains).

However, both species are widespread in southern and eastern Europe.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Bärbel Pachinger: About the occurrence of stone bees Lithurgus LATR. (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Megachilidae) in Austria - ecology, distribution and endangerment . In: Linz Biological Contributions . tape 36/1 , 2004, p. 559-566 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).
  2. ↑ a b c d Paul Westrich: The wild bees of Germany . E. Ulmer Verl., Stuttgart 2018, ISBN 978-3-8186-0123-2 , pp. 147-149, 577-579 .
  3. ↑ Bernard E. Vaissière, Jean-Paul Torre Grossa, Geneviève Cambon, Richard W. Rust: Nesting Biology and Foraging Ecology of the Wood-boring Bee Lithurgus chrysurus (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) . In: Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society . tape 77 , no. 3 , 2004, ISSN  0022-8567 , p. 269–279 , doi : 10.2317 / 0402.17.1 ( bioone.org [accessed June 13, 2019]).
  4. ^ Charles D. Michener: The bees of the world . 2nd ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2007, ISBN 978-1-4356-9259-6 , pp. 446 .
  5. ^ A b Richard W. Rust, Geneviève Cambon, Jean-Paul Torre Grossa, Bernard E. Vaissière: (PDF) Nesting Biology and Foraging Ecology of the Wood-boring Bee Lithurgus chrysurus (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Retrieved June 15, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Eli S. Wyman, Jerome G. Rozen: Early Nesting Biology of the Wood-Nesting Adventive Bee, Lithurgus chrysurus Fonscolombe (Apoidea: Megachilidae: Lithurginae) . In: American Museum Novitates . tape 2014 , no. 3804 , 2014, ISSN  0003-0082 , p. 1–12 , doi : 10.1206 / 3804.1 ( bioone.org [accessed June 13, 2019]).
  7. ↑ G. Reder: First record of Lithurgus cornutus (Fabricius 1787) in Germany and the distribution of Lithurgus chrysurus Fonscolombe 1843 (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) . In: Ampulex . No. 11 , 2020, p. 30-33 .