This megachilid bee is widespread in Eastern North America and is an effective pollinator of blueberry. It has been evaluated for commercial use and is occasionally used as a managed blueberry pollinator. (Drummond and Stubbs, 1997)
Females are solitary and nest above ground, in raspberry or blackberry cane, or in burrows in wood previously dug by other insects. (They take well to artificial wooden nesting blocks with holes drilled in them.) They seal their nests with plant fiber which they chew to a pulp. (UMaine Extension No. 2420)
Osmia atriventris, sometimes referred to as the Maine blueberry bee, is a megachilid bee native to eastern North America from Nova Scotia to Alberta in the north, and Iowa to Georgia in the south.[1] This solitary bee normally gathers pollen from many different flowers, but will pollinate blueberries, and is sometimes used commercially for this purpose.[2]
Osmia atriventris, sometimes referred to as the Maine blueberry bee, is a megachilid bee native to eastern North America from Nova Scotia to Alberta in the north, and Iowa to Georgia in the south. This solitary bee normally gathers pollen from many different flowers, but will pollinate blueberries, and is sometimes used commercially for this purpose.
