119/150: Blue Bee or not Blue Bee… The unsung heroes of orchard pollination

Animalia: Arthropoda: Insecta: Hymenoptera: Megachilidae: Osmia: Osmia lignaria Say 1837

When you think of important pollinators, you picture honeybees and bumblebees, but have you heard of blue bees? The Blue Orchard Bee or Mason Orchard Bee (Osmia lignaria) is a species in the family Megachilidae, a group of solitary bees with long hairs on the underside of their abdomens used to carry pollen (scopa). Blue Orchard bees are 9 to 14 mm long, metallic bluish grey to black and equipped with a stinger, although they are non-aggressive and unlikely to sting. This species is native to the western coast of North America, and pollinates a wide variety of orchard crops including apples, pears, cherries, quince and blueberry. Unlike honeybees, blue orchard bees are solitary, building individual nests from mud to raise their young. Due to the ease of rearing and management, it has been widely used as a fruit tree pollinator across Canada and the US. #Canada150 #Biodiversity150

Here’s the barcode sequence information for this species:

Process ID: RRMFE3077-15

nucleotide sequence

AATTCTTTATATAATATTTGCTTTATGATCTGGAATAATTGGTTCAGCAATAAGAATTATTATTCGAATAGAATTAAGTATTCCTGGATCATGAATTTCTAATGACCAAATCTATAATTCTTTAGTTACAGCTCATGCTTTTTTAATAATTTTTTTTCTTGTAATACCATTTTTAATTGGGGGATTTGGAAATTGATTAATTCCTTTAATATTAGGAATTCCAGATATAGCTTTTCCCCGAATAAATAATATTAGATTTTGACTTTTACCCCCATCTTTAATAATTTTACTTTTAAGAAATTTTTTAAATCCAAGACCAGGAACAGGATGAACTGTATATCCTCCTTTATCTTCAAATTTATACCATTCTTCACCCTCAGTAGATTTAGCAATTTTTTCTTTACATATTTCAGGATTATCTTCTATTATAGGATCACTAAATTTTATTGTTACAATTATTATAATAAAAAATATTTCCTTAAAACATATACAATTACCTTTATTTCCTTGATCTGTTTTTATTACAACTATTCTTTTACTTTTTTCCTTACCAGTATTAGCTGGTGCTATTACTATATTATTATTTGACCGAAATTTTAATACATCTTTTTTTGATCCAACTGGAGGAGGAGACCCAATTCTTTATCAACATTTATTT

amino acid sequence

ILYMMFALWSGMIGSAMSIIIRMELSIPGSWISNDQIYNSLVTAHAFLMIFFLVMPFLIGGFGNWLIPLMLGIPDMAFPRMNNISFWLLPPSLMILLLSNFLNPSPGTGWTVYPPLSSNLYHSSPSVDLAIFSLHISGLSSIMGSLNFIVTIIMMKNISLKHMQLPLFPWSVFITTILLLFSLPVLAGAITMLLFDRNFNTSFFDPTGGGDPILYQHLF

Learn more about it’s BIN (Barcode Index Number): BOLD:AAE5495