Maine Blueberry Bee

Osmia atriventris · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Megachilidae

Also called: Small Black-bellied Mason Bee, Black-bellied Mason

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Maine Blueberry Bee
Photo: USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), Public domain

The Maine blueberry bee is a solitary bee that visits many kinds of flowers for pollen. It also pollinates blueberries.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It is a solitary bee that gathers pollen from many different flowers.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

It gathers pollen from many flowers and will pollinate blueberries.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 34 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan, West Virginia, New York.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Maine Blueberry Bee photo 3
Photo: USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), Public domain
Maine Blueberry Bee photo 4
Photo: USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), Public domain
Maine Blueberry Bee photo 5
Photo: Kyle Rossner, CC BY

Questions people ask

What plants does it visit for pollen?

It gathers pollen from many different flowers and also pollinates blueberries.

Source: Wikipedia

Does it pollinate blueberries?

Yes, it will pollinate blueberries while gathering pollen.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Megachilidae)

European Woolcarder BeeEuropean Woolcarder BeeAnthidium manicatumRed Mason BeeRed Mason BeeOsmia bicornisCan stingEuropean Orchard BeeEuropean Orchard BeeOsmia cornutaSculptured Resin BeeSculptured Resin BeeMegachile sculpturalisOblong Woolcarder BeeOblong Woolcarder BeeAnthidium oblongatumFlat-tailed Leafcutter BeeFlat-tailed Leafcutter BeeMegachile mendica

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmia_atriventris

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.