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Genus Anthidium - Woolcarder Bees

Wool Carder Bee - Anthidium manicatum - female Green-eyed Bee - Anthidium oblongatum courting bees in Penstemon richardsonii - Anthidium manicatum Wool Carder bee - Anthidium manicatum - female Anthidium sp.? - Anthidium manicatum Wool-carder collecting nesting material - Anthidium manicatum - female Anthidium maculifrons? - Anthidium Anthidium oblongatum - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
No Taxon (Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees)
Family Megachilidae (Leafcutter, Mason, and Resin Bees, and allies)
Subfamily Megachilinae (Leafcutter, Resin, Mortar, Sharptail, Mason, and Woolcarder bees and relatives)
Tribe Anthidiini (Wool-carder, Resin, Pebble, and Allied Bees)
Genus Anthidium (Woolcarder Bees)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
revised in (1)
Numbers
29 spp. in 3 subgenera in our area (all but 3 in the nominate subgenus), ~170 spp. in 7 subgenera worldwide(2)
Identification
interactive key; separate keys for males and females
distinctive characters for the genus(3):
Subantennal sutures very straight

No arolium between front claws (unlike in other Anthidiini)
Range
across NA and much of the world except Australasia and se. Asia (map)
Season
May-Sep (A. cognatum in NC)(4); Jul-Aug in MN
Life Cycle
Females collect down from pubescent plants and use it to line nest(5)
Remarks
A. manicatum and A. oblongatum, common in e. NA, are adventive spp. of European origin
Works Cited
1.Wool carder bees of the genus Anthidium in the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associa...
Victor H. Gonzalez , Terry L. Griswold. 2013. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol. 168(2), pp. 221–425.
2.Ascher J.S., Pickering J. (2017) Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila)
3.The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America's Bees.
Joseph S. Wilson & Olivia J. Messinger Carril. 2015. Princeton University Press.
4.Insects of North Carolina
C.S. Brimley. 1938. North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
5.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.