Alkali bee
| Nomia melanderi | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Halictidae |
| Genus: | Nomia |
| Subgenus: | Acunomia |
| Species: | N. melanderi |
| Binomial name | |
| Nomia melanderi (Cockerell, 1906) | |
The alkali bee, Nomia melanderi,[1] is a ground-nesting bee native to deserts and semi-arid desert basins of the western United States.
The bee nests in salt-saturated soil. It is an effective pollinator for alfalfa.[2] They are known to perform a specialized technique for opening alfalfa flowers for pollination, by which the bee applies pressure to snap open the keel of the flower. Due to the bees' unusual nesting needs, farmers have developed ways to accommodate them.[3]
It is preyed upon by the conopid fly Zodion obliquefasciatum.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ "Nomia melanderi Cockerell, 1906". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ↑ "...Nomia melanderi, sustainably managed to pollinate alfalfa ...", USDA
- ↑ Moisset, Beatrice; Wojcik, Vicki. "The Alkali Bee (Nomia melanderi)". USDA Forest Service.
- ↑ Howell, J.F. (1967). "Biology of Zodion obliquefasciatum (Macq.) (Diptera: Conopidae) a parasite of the alkali bee, Nomia melanderi Ckll. (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)". Bulletin of the Washington Agriculture Experimental Station. 51: 1–33.
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