Osmia opima

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Osmiini
Genus: Osmia Panzer, 1806
Subgenus: O. (Osmia) Panzer, 1806
Species: Osmia opima Gerstacker, 1869
Common name: none

Overview

Osmia (Osmia) opima are black bees; females have long yellow-gray hairs on the face with intermixed black hairs on the fronsfrons:
the area between the antennae and ocelli on the bee's head
and vertexvertex:
the area between the ocelli and the back of the head
(Romankova 1985Romankova 1985:
Romankova, T.G. 1985. New species of the genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics 722: 591.). T1–T5 have white hairs on the discs, and T6T6:
the segments on the top side of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, or T7
have brown hairs (Romankova 1985Romankova 1985:
Romankova, T.G. 1985. New species of the genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics 722: 591.). Males have long thick hair; T1–T3 has reddish hair, T4T4:
the segments on the top side of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, or T7
has reddish mixed with dark hairs, and T5T5:
the segments on the top side of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, or T7
has reddish mixed with lighter hairs (Romankova 1985Romankova 1985:
Romankova, T.G. 1985. New species of the genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics 722: 591.). Female body length is 12.5–16.3 mm, and male body length is 12–13 mm (Romankova 1985Romankova 1985:
Romankova, T.G. 1985. New species of the genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics 722: 591.).

Diagnostic characteristics 

(modified from Romankova 1985Romankova 1985:
Romankova, T.G. 1985. New species of the genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics 722: 591., many characters assumed to match the description of O. longicornis from Peters 1978Peters 1978:
Peters, D.S. 1978. Systematik und Zoogeographie der west-palauml;arktischen Arten von Osmia Panzer, 1806 s. str., Monosmia Tkalcu, 1974 und Orientosmia n. subgen. (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica (Frankfurt) 58: 287ndash;346.)

• Mouthparts much smaller than the length of the entire body when extended.
• Terga terga:
  the segments on the top side of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, or T7
  with apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  hair bandsbands:
  usually referring to bands of hair or bands of color that traverse across an abdominal segment
  .
• Female clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  with long laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  horns and an acute median projection. The discdisc:
  a generic term for the middle surface of a plate (usually in reference to an abdominal segment)
  of the clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  is mostly shiny and impunctateimpunctate:
  marked with punctures or pits
  .
• Male F1 almost as long as F2.
• Male gonostylusgonostylus:
  the apical-most appendage of the male genitalia, which is usually quite hairy
  not expended apicallyapically:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  .
• Male middle femurfemur:
  the third segment of the leg, situated between the trochanter and the tibia
  expanded ventrally.
• Male S8S8:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  rounded apicallyapically:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  .

May be confused with 

Osmia opima are very similar looking to O. longicornis, especially the females, which previous authors have been unable to differentiate (Romankova 1985Romankova 1985:
Romankova, T.G. 1985. New species of the genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics 722: 591.). Males can be differentiated by dissecting them to view the gonostylusgonostylus:
the apical-most appendage of the male genitalia, which is usually quite hairy
, which is not expanded apicallyapically:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
in O. opima as it is in O. longicornis (Romankova 1985Romankova 1985:
Romankova, T.G. 1985. New species of the genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics 722: 591.). S8S8:
the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
also varies and has recurved laterallateral:
relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
projections about mid-way through in O. opima and is more rounded apicallyapically:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
(Romankova 1985Romankova 1985:
Romankova, T.G. 1985. New species of the genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics 722: 591.).

Phenology

unknown

Host associations 

unknown

Nesting behavior 

Osmia opima make nests in old wood; cells are composed of clay (Romankova 1985Romankova 1985:
Romankova, T.G. 1985. New species of the genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics 722: 591.).

Distribution

Osmia opima specimens have been recorded in southeastern Russia, northeastern China, and South Korea (Romankova 1985Romankova 1985:
Romankova, T.G. 1985. New species of the genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics 722: 591.).

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References

Peters, D.S. 1978. Systematik und Zoogeographie der west-paläarktischen Arten von Osmia Panzer, 1806 s. str., Monosmia Tkalcu, 1974 und Orientosmia n. subgen. (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica (Frankfurt) 58: 287-346.

Romankova, T.G. 1985. New species of the genus Osmia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from the Far East. Research institute of biology and biophysics 722: 591.