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Solytary bee from the Osmiini tribe (Megachilidae). The osmiine bees are famous for their often spectacular and very diverse nest building behaviours as well as for their close relationships with flowering plants. Several Osmia species in Europe (e.g. O. cornuta), Asia (e.g. O. cornifrons) and North America (e.g. Osmia lignaria) are commercially used to pollinate the flowers of fruit trees. The outstanding diversity with respect to both species number and biology renders the Osmiini a most suitable model group for the study of the evolution of nesting biology and flower preferences in bees in general. The osmiine bees constitute a tribe within the family Megachilidae, which is one of the nine currently recognized families of bees (Engel, 2005; Michener, 2007; Poinar and Danforth, 2006; Praz et al., 2008b; but see Danforth et al., 2006, and Michez et al., 2009):
On a Rockrose flower (Cistus ladanifer). Holm oak forest
Camera Model: NIKON D300. Exposure Time: 1/1600 sec.; f/20; ISO Speed Rating: 800. Exposure Bias: 0 EV. Focal Length: 300.0 mm. No Flash fired
Spotted on Apr 23, 2014
Submitted on May 19, 2014
5 Comments
A solitary bee, in the Osmiini tribe, Osmia tricornis or similar, I think
Gracias Marta!
A ver, cuanto mas se pueda llevar la tia! jaja..preciosas series de primavera!
Y no paraba de dar bueltas alrededor de los estambres para pringarse bien. ::))
Mirala, como se embadurna ella bien..que rico el polen! :-)