The bees of Michigan (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila), with notes on distribution, taxonomy, pollination, and natural history
Author
Gibbs, Jason
Author
Ascher, John S.
Author
Rightmyer, Molly G.
Author
Isaacs, Rufus
text
Zootaxa
2017
2017-11-21
4352
1
1
160
journal article
31367
10.11646/zootaxa.4352.1.1
543c4afc-4ffb-4e11-a858-a6d1d9745214
1175-5326
1063854
7C684128-FFA7-48AA-B395-B9C6BC39353A
Osmia
(
Osmia
)
taurus
Smith 1873
(New state record)
(
Fig. 21
)
County records:
Kalamazoo.
Notes.
This exotic species, native to
East Asia
and widespread in
Japan
, is closely related to
O
.
cornifrons
(above). Although it was first detected many years after the introduction of
O
.
cornifrons
(
Buchmann & Ascher 2005
;
Ebmer 2011
), it seems plausible that it was introduced accidentally at the same time. The species has spread along the eastern states from
New
York
to
Georgia
largely along the Appalachian Mountains. A single male was collected from a semi-natural area near a low-density population center and agricultural lands. A series of
O
.
cornifrons
were collected at the same site. The species were distinguished using a published key (
Yasumatsu & Hirashima 1950
). The spread of
O
.
taurus
into the Midwest has not been well-documented, except from photographs identified online from
Indiana
(http://bugguide.net/node/view/913803l) and
Ohio
(http:// bugguide.net/node/view/1220268), and a recent dissertation on bees from Cleveland (
Prajzner 2016
). The first
Michigan
record of
O
.
taurus
could easily have been overlooked due to the abundance of
O
.
cornifrons
at this site, which look very similar.
Osmia cornifrons
, being readily distinguishable with the naked eye from species other than
O
.
taurus
, were of little interest to the collector at the time. This example illustrates one benefit of collecting insects in series even when the identity is presumed to be known.
Material
examined.
Kalamazoo Co
.
:
Kellogg Bird Sanctuary
,
N42.394
W85.385
,
16 Apr. 2016
,
J. Gibbs
&
Y. Nozoe
(
1 ♂
MSUC
).