Fuente: PubMed "bee pollen" Zootaxa. 2026 Mar 24;5782(2):330-346. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5782.2.5.ABSTRACTThree new osmiine bee species (Megachilidae, Osmiini) inhabiting the Arabian desert are described: Hoplitis (Hoplitis) heliotropiisp. nov. from Saudi Arabia, H. (Hoplitis) trichodesmaesp. nov. from Saudi Arabia and the Arava Valley in Israel, and H. (Platosmia) trisinuatasp. nov. from Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Field observations and microscopical analyses of female pollen loads indicate that all three species exhibit a pronounced preference for Boraginaceae as pollen hosts, i.e. H.heliotropii and H. trisinuata for Heliotropium and H. trichodesmae for Trichodesma. The females of H. heliotropii and H. trisinuata possess apically curved or hooked bristles on the proboscis and the fore legs, respectively, which they use to scrape pollen out of the narrow flower tubes of Heliotropium, whereas females of H. trichodesmae apply buzzing to shake pollen out of the flowers of Trichodesma. The occurrence of specialized pollen-collecting bristles used by Palaearctic bees and pollen wasps to exploit Heliotropium flowers and the buzzing behaviour in bees of the Megachilidae are discussed.PMID:42408110 | DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.5782.2.5