Anthophora

Taxonomy

Anthophora is a genus in the family Apidae. The Apidae family includes honey bees and bumble bees. There are very few Apidae species that nest in wood or stems; most are ground nesting.

Description

Anthophora terminalis is a fairly robust and hairy bee with dark integument and grey to yellowish hairs. The males have yellow on their faces. Like all bees in the Apidae family, they carry pollen on hairs on their back legs.

Nest Structure

Nesting reports of Anthophora terminalis, including the Bee Atlas nest, indicate that this species uses sawdust or chewed wood to form the partitions and plugs of their nests. A. terminalis is often reported to partly or fully excavate its own nests.

Hole Sizes

The MN Bee Atlas nest was found in a 6.25 mm diameter tunnel. Medler (1964) reported on Anthophora terminalis in Wisconsin and found that it nests in 1/4-5/16 in. (6.25-7.8 mm) holes.

Voltinism

Anthophora terminalis is univoltine in North America as far as we know (Cockerell, 1903; Medler, 1964). Our Bee Atlas nest emerged the following spring.

Activity Period

We do not have information about when the Bee Atlas nest was made. The nest was far back in the tunnel and short, making it hard to see the nesting activity. Cockerell (1903) and Medler (1964) suggest the bee is active in mid to late summer.

References

__(1)__Cockerell, W.P. 1903. The nesting of a carpenter bee (Clisodon terminalis). Birds and Nature in Natural Colors 14: 127–128. __(2)__Medler, J.T. 1964. Anthophora (Clisodon) terminalis Cresson in trap-nests in Wisconsin (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae). The Canadian Entomologist 96: 1332–1336. __(3)__Satyshur C.D, and Orr, M.C. 2020. Record of Anthophora (Clisodon) terminalis nesting in a wooden trap-nesting block and comparison to available nesting information (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of Mellitology. We cite several references within this note.