ANTHOPHORA PILIPES VILLOSULA SM (HYMENOPTERA, ANTHOPHORIDAE), A MANAGEABLE JAPANESE BEE THAT VISITS BLUEBERRIES AND APPLES DURING COOL, RAINY, SPRING WEATHER

The vernal, univoltine solitary Japanese bee, Anthophora pilipes villo sula, promises to be a worthy addition to our pollinator fauna. It was easily maintained in inexpensive, portable adobe blocks. It is gentle , forages during inclement weather, also from before dawn until after dusk in fine weather. It is polylectic, does not steal nectar, flies r apidly, forages to 500 m, visits numerous flowers including blueberry and apple, and sonicates. Its active period coincides well with spring fruit blossom in the temperate zone. Females may make several nests, learning new nest locations. Dormant nests in adobe blocks were kept o utdoors through five years in Maryland with minimal insulation, and th e population approximately tripled each year. Details are provided reg arding its behavior in Japan and Maryland, including phenology in rela tion to crops, wild plants and other bees, hosts, foraging behavior, e ffects of weather, management, substrate and nesting behavior, territo rial behavior of males and mating.