Observational field study reveals ground-nesting behaviors and resin cell construction in Dianthidium simile, indicating specialized habitat reliance on sandy lakeshores.
Dianthidium simile (Cresson) is a small ground-nesting megachilid bee restricted to sandy areas in Michigan, often bordering lakeshores. Females dig their nests in sand, at the base of dried clumps of grass. Nests are small clusters of cells, formed from conifer resin and sand grains, with each 1-1.5 cm in length by 8.5 mm in diameter. Collection records and field observations indicate a flight period from late June to early September. This is the first report on the behavior of this species.
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Mark F. O’Brien (2018) studied this question.
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