Anthophora plumipes

Anthophora plumipes
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Hexapoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Apidae
Subfamily:	Apinae
Tribe:	Anthophorini
Genus:	Anthophora
Species:	A. plumipes
Binomial name
Anthophora plumipes (Pallas, 1772)
Synonyms
Apis acervorum Linnaeus 1758 Apis pilipes Fabricius 1775 Apis hirsuta Fabricius 1787 Apis rufipes Christ 1791 Apis palmipes Rossi 1792 Anthophora nigrofulva Lepeletier 1841 Anthophora pennata Lepeletier 1841 Anthophora sicula Smith 1854 Anthophora villosula Smith 1854 Anthophora acervorum squalens Dours 1869 Podalirius acervorum albipes Friese 1896 Podalirius acervorum niger Friese 1896 Podalirius acervorum nigripes Friese 1896 Anthophora soror Pérez 1905 Anthophora acervorum dimidiata Alfken 1913 Anthophora acervorum intermixta Alfken 1913 Anthophora pingshiangensis Strand 1913 Podalirius acervorum varians Friese 1922 Anthophora acervorum lisbonensis Cockerell 1922 Anthophora acervorum palestinensis Hedicke 1936 Anthophora acervorum cypriaca Mavromoustakis 1957

The Hairy-Footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes) is a species of bee belonging to the family Apidae.

They are present in most of Europe, in the Near East and in North Africa. In the 20th century, the species has been introduced into the U.S.

The adults grow up to 13–15 millimetres (0.51–0.59 in) long and can be encountered from March to June, feeding and collecting pollen and nectar on early flowering plants, mainly on (Primulaceae species (Primula veris, Primula acaulis, etc.), Boraginaceae species (Pulmonaria officinalis, Borago officinalis, etc.), Lamiaceae species (Lamium purpureum) and Fumariaceae (Corydalis sp.).

The body is densely hairy, most often gray in males and black or brown in females, but there are numerous color forms over the species' geographic range, which have resulted in this species being described under many different names. The middle legs of males are very elongated with long tufts of black hairs on the tarsi (hence the Latin word plumipes), used as a visual signal during mating. Males are also distinguished from females by having the integument of the lower face yellow, rather than black.

These solitary bees do not build colonies. The females usually make nests in clay slopes and steep walls of mud, where they excavate cells, which they fill with pollen and nectar (as food for the larvae), laying a single egg on each pollen mass.

...
Wikipedia