Browsing by Author "Pisanty, Gideon."
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Item Nesting biology, flower preferences, and larval morphology of the little-known Old World bee Ochreriades fasciatus (Apoidea, Megachilidae, Megachilinae). (American Museum novitates, no. 3830)(American Museum of Natural History., 2015-04-21) Rozen, Jerome G., Jr. (Jerome George), 1928-; Pisanty, Gideon.; Trunz, Vincent.; Bénon, Dimitri.; Dorchin, Achik.; Praz, Christophe J.Herein we present information on the nesting behavior of Ochreriades fasciatus (Friese) found occupying beetle galleries in dead trunks and branches of certain trees and shrubs in Israel. We also describe the pre- and postdefecating larvae thereby making known the mature larva for this uncommon Old World genus. Females of O. fasciatus build linear nests in existing burrows in dead wood; depending on the length of the burrow, 1-5 cells are placed in one nest. The cell partitions are made of hardened mud, while the nest plug consists of pebbles fixed together with mud. Ochreriades fasciatus is oligolectic on Lamiaceae and probably strongly associated with the two related genera Ballota and Moluccella. It is hoped that information concerning its nesting biology, host-plant relationships, as well as larval development and anatomy will eventually prove valuable in determining the phylogenetic position of this genus relative to other megachiline bees.Item Nests, floral preferences, and immatures of the bee Haetosmia vechti (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae, Osmiini). (American Museum novitates, no. 3808)(American Museum of Natural History., 2014-07-21) Gotlieb, Ariella.; Pisanty, Gideon.; Rozen, Jerome G., Jr. (Jerome George), 1928-; Müller, Andreas (Biologist); Röder, Gregory.; Sedivy, Claudio.; Praz, Christophe J.Herein we describe the nests (including structure, closure, orientation, and depth of cells) of the bee Haetosmia vechti Peters found nesting in Rehovot, Israel. The nesting biology of H. vechti mirrors the ancestral nesting biology within the Osmia group of the Osmiini. Nests in sandy soil consist of an excavated burrow, ending below in a small cluster of vertical cells. The cells possess firm walls of masticated leaf pulp of Centaurea procurrens Spreng. and Heliotropium suaveolens M. Bieb., and are covered with pebbles and sand grains. The last larval instar and pupa of Haetosmia vechti are described, as is its cocoon. The immature stages exhibit the basic features of megachilid bees, but tend to have a thinner body vestiture compared to other studied taxa. In addition, we report new information on and review published accounts concerning the pollen collecting behavior of the genus Haetosmia Popov, which contains three species. Pollen taken from scopal hairs of 68 females collected at 17 sites in Turkestan, Morocco, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates was identified as originating solely from Heliotropium L. (Boraginaceae), which strongly suggests that all three Haetosmia species are narrowly oligolectic on this plant genus. In females of all three species, the second segment of the labial palpus is densely covered with rather long, apically curved and capitate bristles, an adaptation to collect Heliotropium pollen from anthers that are hidden inside the narrow corolla tube. Similar pollen-harvesting bristles specifically adapted to exploit flowers of Heliotropium seem to have evolved independently a number of times on different continents, in bees of four families.