Osmia subfasciata Cresson, 1872

Osmia subfasciata Cresson, 1872: 261 [♀, ♂].

     Lectotype ♀, desginated by Cresson (1916: 131). USA, Texas, by Belfrage [ANSP no. 2541].

Osmia botitena Cockerell, 1909: 30 [♀]. Synonymy by Sandhouse (1939: 140).

     Neotype ♀, designated by M. Rightmyer, in Griswold and Rightmyer (2017: 21). USA, Texas, Lee Co., by Birkmann [USNM].

Osmia punctata Michener, 1936: 85 [♀]. Synonymy by Sandhouse (1939: 140); of Osmia subfasciata subfasciata Cresson by Hurd and Michener (1955: 215).

     Holotype ♀. USA, California, Coachella, 20 April 1934 [collector unknown] [CAS no 8764].

Taxonomic Notes: Michener (1936: 85) indicated that O. punctata Michener was closely related to O. subfasciata Cresson and O. botitena Cockerell, collectively forming a group for which he provided a key. He separated his species from O. subfasciata mainly based on the flagellum being entirely black, not brown beneath; both were separate from O. botitena by the greenish head and thorax with smaller punctures (Michener 1936: 85-86; and see Griswold and Rightmyer 2017: 24). All three species were synonymized under O. subfasciata Cresson by Sandhouse (1939: 140). Sandhouse (1939: 140) also included O. conjunctoides Robertson, 1893 and O. conjucta marilaunidii Cockerell, 1914 as synonymys of O. subfasciata, though the former was treated as a subspecies of O. subfasciata by Michener (1949: 265) and Hurd and Michener (1955), and a valid species by Rightymer et al. (2011: 270) and Giriswold and Rightmyer (2017: 7)]; the latter was recognized as a valid species, O. marilaunidii Cockerell by Griswold and Rightmyer (2017: 17).

Michener (1949: 261), who saw the holotype of O. botitena (i.e., Michener 1936), did not accept Sandhouse’s (1939) synonymy, and felt that it may represent the female associated with O. marilaunidii which if correct would be the valid name for that taxon. As Michener (1949: 261) indicated that the holotype of O. botitena is lost, the topotypic neotype selected by Rightmyer (in Griswold and Rightmyer 2017) supports the synonymy of Sandhouse (1939) and stabilizes the taxonomy (Griswold and Rightmyer 2017: 24).

DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:AAD5658

Biology: The nesting biology of this species was summarized by Linsley (1946), Mitchell (1962), Krombein (1967), Hurd (1979), Neff and Simpson (1992), and Cane et al. (2007). It nests in pre-existing cavities in wood, accepts trapnests, and will nest in empty snail shells (Neff and Simpson 1992). It is a polylectic species (Neff and Simpson 1992).

Distribution in Canada: Taylor 2014 [ON].

The presence of this species in Canada (Ontario) needs verification as Griswold and Rightmyer (2017) reported it much more common in the southwest USA, with only a few records in the eastern USA.