Anthidium (Turkanthidium)

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Anthidiini
Genus: Anthidium Fabricius, 1804
Subgenus: Turkanthidium Pasteels, 1969
Common name: none

Overview

Anthidium (Turkanthidium) are robust bees with a spherical abdomen. They may be black with extensive yellow to reddish-brown coloration or primarily yellow (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). They range in body length from 5–7 mm (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.)

• Pronotal lobe pronotal lobe:
  a part of the pronotum located dorsally on the posterior margin of the pronotum and overlaps the anterior thoracic spiracle
  lamellatelamellate:
  thin, plate-like, often somewhat translucent structure
  .
• Scutellum scutellum:
  shield shaped plate behind scutum
  is extended posteriorly and carinatecarinate:
  having keels or carinae
  laterally, with a median emarginationemargination:
  a notched or cut out place in an edge or margin, can be dramatic or simply a subtle inward departure from the general curve or line of the margin or structure being described
  that is not carinatecarinate:
  having keels or carinae
  .
• Scutellum scutellum:
  shield shaped plate behind scutum
  margin is gradually curved at each site to the axillar margin.
• Female hind basitarsusbasitarsus:
  the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
  is extremely wide; in some species it is as wide as the tibiatibia:
  the segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
  .
• Male T7T7:
  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
  is bilobed, and sometimes has a small median spine.

May be confused with

Anthidium (Turkanthidium) may be confused with bees in the subgenus A. (Proanthidium) due to the lack of a thickened clypeal margin (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). However, A. (Turkanthidium) can be differentiated from A. (Proanthidium) by the shape of the female scutellumscutellum:
shield shaped plate behind scutum
and the length of the hind basitarsusbasitarsus:
the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
(Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Host associations

Floral associations are unknown.

Nesting behavior

Nesting behavior is unknown.

Diversity

Anthidium (Turkanthidium) consists of five species (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.); none are known to occur in the U.S. or Canada.

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Distribution

Anthidium (Turkanthidium) occur in Central Asia and Afghanistan (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

​Distribution map generated by Discover Life -- click on map for details, credits, and terms of use.

References

Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.