#anthophora

by marlin harms

During my long absence on Tumblr, I've gotten deeply involved with documenting native bees, both on iNaturalist and in several local ongoing studies. Shown here is a Subgenus Micranthophora, Genus Anthophora (Common Digger Bees) on an Alkali Heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum).

(February 26th, 2025)

Photograph by Andy Johnson

“A Japanese Bee in America. This is Anthophora villosula. An Anthophora that was introduced in the 80s to Eastern U.S. for ag purposes, but its potential was never realized. Now, unfortunately, it is a common and spreading alien species dispersing from its original location in the Washington D.C. area and will likely occupy much of the country at some point. It can be found nesting in the dry dirt under decks, in upturned root masses and in the earthen plaster of strawbale houses such as mine, where it nests by the hundreds. It does favor the "alien" plant community over the natives so it will be another interesting story to watch how it integrates and competes with the local bee fauna. Another rock thrown into the quiet pool of native bees and their flowers. Photographs by Brooke Alexander.” - via Wikimedia Commons

Anthophora plumipes from the Netherlands. Not long ago this species was split. Populations in Asia (where the boundary was is not clear to me) were split from the European ones and the old name A. villosula was resurrected. The populations that were transported to the U.S. from Asia thus had their names changed too. Photograph by Erik Hernandez from the Wild Bee Lab

A male digger bee (Anthophora spp.) about on the flowers of a hairy manzanita. Manzanita shrubs, common along the west coast of North America, are among the most stunning of the region's native flora. They are also superb pollinator plants, producing abundant nectar-rich blooms. Digger bees are excellent pollinators if manzanita, able to buzz pollinate the flowers to extract the resources. The fruits of their visit are reaped in late summer when animals from birds to bears feast on the manzanita berries. #insects_of_our_world #macroworld_tr #pollinators #diggerbee #anthophora #wildbee #manzanita #conservation

(May 2025)