Mounted male specimen of Anthidium (Anthidium) florentinum (Fabricius, 1775). Seen from behind, it is definitely reminiscent of a fat wasp. Males tend to be larger than females, in contrast to most bee species. Author: myself Source: Ent. Coll. MNCN-CSIC
Detail of the specimen's wing. In this body region, the genus is characterised by having two submarginal cells. Also, the second recurrent vein reaches beyond the submarginal cell no. 2. Author: myself Source: Ent. Coll. MNCN-CSIC
Detail of the posterior part of the abdomen of this specimen. Males have lateral spines on each segment (i.e. terguite). These pointed tooth protrusions are useful for species identification. In this case, as they reach T4, it is A. florentinum and not A. manicatum. Author: myself Source: Ent. Coll. MNCN-CSIC
Detail of the specimen's face. Its straight basal margin of the clypeus and subantennal sutures are also diagnostic of the genus. A. manicatum males have a dark spot on the clypeus, while this one does not. Author: myself Source: Ent. Coll. MNCN-CSIC
These are probably my favourites! Bumblebee from the Transformers movie should have been named after this genus: #Anthidium.
Some species look a lot like wasps! 🐝
Here you can check some ID features: www.idmybee.com/anthidium.html
