420:
gravel and soil between the last cell and the plug as an anti-predator barrier. The shell is then manipulated by the female so that the entrance is facing towards the ground. Once the nest is complete the female covers the shell in a canopy of grass stems, small twigs or leaves to camouflage it. She uses her saliva to bind the canopy materials together. The females are often seen carrying these materials which can be many times the length of the bee. If the soil is soft enough the female may also partially bury the shell. Male
46:
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Depending on the size of the shell there will be four to five cells per shell and the shell will be sealed with the same type of chewed up leaf material, leaf mastic, as used to create the cells, as well as being speckled on the outside of the shell as camouflage. The female will also deposit sand,
355:
in western Europe and is among the first bees to emerge in the spring, males can be seen as early as
February, although the normal flight period is from April to July. The females emerge a few weeks after the males and are quickly mated. Compared to females the males have a very short life. Once
408:. Once the female has selected a shell she moves into her preferred position before depositing balls consisting of chewed up masticated pollen and nectar to provision the nest. One egg is laid on each ball and the female then builds a cell around the egg and food provision.
228:
317:
females are small bees, 12 mm in length, with a black head and thorax and an abdomen covered in bright ginger hair. In the males the ginger colour of the abdomen is less intense.
424:
have been recorded using empty snail shells as shelters during periods of cold or wet weather and at night. The female will make up to six or seven nests in the breeding season. The
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and uses a wide variety of wildflowers to feed on and to collect pollen and nectar from. In
Britain it has been recorded as feeding on wood anemone (
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1007:
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340:. It occurs in grasslands and open deciduous woodland over calcareous soils underlain by rocks such as limestone and chalk.
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is classified as a nationally notable species in
Britain, although it is classified a Least Concern by the
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seeks out the empty shells of snails, In
Britain it has been recorded using the shells of
296:. It is outstanding amongst other megachilid bees in that it nests in empty snail shells.
411:
997:
878:
865:
561:
384:. While in Europe it has also been recorded using the shells of species in the genera
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332:, it is found as far north as southern Scandinavia and Finland, and south as far as
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is found in Europe and western Asia from southern Great
Britain in the west east to
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Ana Nieto; Stuart P.M. Roberts; James Kemp; et al. (2014).
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Camouflaging a clutch in a snail shell with blades of grass
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Recording the
Wildlife of Leicestershire and Rurland
778:
589:"Palaearctic Osmiine Bees » Subgenus Neosmia"
433:has been recorded as a parasite in the nests of
520:International Union for Conservation of Nature
650:"Adorable bees that live inside snail shells"
8:
766:
758:BBC Radio 4 The Living World Programme on
31:
20:
671:
669:
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678:"Osmia bicolor the snail thatching bee"
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564:. Bees Wasps and Ants Recording Society
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1013:Taxa named by Franz von Paula Schrank
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884:2d0018e5-e45f-4a7e-a6c0-9f607efa8d1c
14:
44:
562:"Osmia bicolor (Schrank,1781)"
1:
727:"European Red List of Bees"
676:John Walters (2014-04-20).
648:Gwen Pearson (2014-04-18).
1029:
610:"Two-coloured Mason Bee -
1008:Insects described in 1781
456:Hyacinthoides non-scripta
172:
165:
146:
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41:Scientific classification
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30:
23:
465:), bird's-foot-trefoil (
321:Distribution and habitat
416:
311:
280:two-coloured mason-bee
1003:Hymenoptera of Europe
480:Onobrychis viciifolia
459:), heath dog-violet (
414:
307:
879:Fauna Europaea (new)
471:), horseshoe vetch (
453:), common bluebell (
450:Anemonoides nemorosa
734:European Commission
680:. JohnWalters.co.uk
524:European Commission
489:spp.), ground-ivy (
702:Chrysura refulgens
560:G.R. Else (1998).
492:Glechoma hederacea
474:Hippocrepis comosa
468:Lotus corniculatus
430:Chrysura refulgens
417:
312:
255:Osmia monachiensis
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970:Open Tree of Life
772:Taxon identifiers
501:) and dandelion (
356:mated the female
271:
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217:Apis hirundinaria
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936:NHMSYS0000876508
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381:Monacha cantiana
375:Cepaea hortensis
369:Cepaea nemoralis
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246:
244:Osmia rufitarsis
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498:Bellis perennis
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206:Apis fuscescens
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132:O. bicolor
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752:External links
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239:(Christ, 1791)
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16:Species of bee
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760:Osmia bicolor
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706:. Chrysis.net
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516:Osmia bicolor
510:
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477:), sainfoin (
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441:Osmia bicolor
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363:Helix pomatia
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349:Osmia bicolor
343:
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326:Osmia bicolor
320:
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315:Osmia bicolor
310:
309:Osmia bicolor
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295:
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290:in the genus
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281:
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275:Osmia bicolor
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150:Osmia bicolor
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141:Binomial name
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25:Osmia bicolor
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737:. Retrieved
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708:. Retrieved
701:
694:
682:. Retrieved
654:. Retrieved
622:. Retrieved
620:. NatureSpot
617:
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604:
593:. Retrieved
566:. Retrieved
515:
514:
511:Conservation
502:
496:
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484:
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462:Viola canina
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220:Christ. 1791
216:
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184:Apis rustica
183:
149:
147:
131:
130:
118:
108:Megachilidae
24:
18:
905:iNaturalist
652:. Wired.com
483:), willow (
435:O. bicornis
426:cuckoo wasp
399:Fruticicola
300:Description
286:species of
236:Osmia fusca
98:Hymenoptera
992:Categories
595:2011-11-21
530:References
495:), daisy (
445:polylectic
437:in Italy.
358:O. bicolor
353:univoltine
284:Palearctic
229:Lepeletier
195:Apis fusca
78:Arthropoda
504:Taraxacum
422:O bicolor
405:Helicella
393:Crepidula
330:Turkestan
126:Species:
64:Kingdom:
58:Eukaryota
803:BioLib:
795:Q2938169
789:Wikidata
188:Geoffroy
167:Synonyms
104:Family:
74:Phylum:
68:Animalia
54:Domain:
897:5039228
845:2753530
387:Arianta
344:Biology
338:Romania
282:, is a
261:, 1917
210:Villers
160:, 1781)
158:Schrank
114:Genus:
94:Order:
88:Insecta
84:Class:
975:280580
949:549096
923:756855
910:207574
871:233160
858:255264
819:214091
739:4 July
710:3 July
684:3 July
656:3 July
624:3 July
568:14 May
507:sp.).
278:, the
259:Strand
250:, 1879
231:, 1841
212:, 1789
201:, 1791
199:Christ
190:, 1785
998:Osmia
962:24484
853:EUNIS
832:74ZWW
806:70777
730:(PDF)
486:Salix
334:Spain
293:Osmia
248:Smith
119:Osmia
944:NCBI
918:ITIS
892:GBIF
814:BOLD
741:2017
712:2017
686:2017
658:2017
626:2017
570:2017
522:and
402:and
378:and
336:and
176:List
931:NBN
840:EoL
827:CoL
443:is
351:is
288:bee
994::
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572:.
156:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
