Cliff Mason Bee vs coast amaranth

Osmia xanthomelana compared with Amaranthus pumilus

Key Differences

• Cliff Mason Bee is Not Evaluated while coast amaranth is Extinct.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cliff Mason Bee	coast amaranth
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Megachilidae	Amaranthaceae
Genus	Osmia	Amaranthus
Species	Osmia xanthomelana	Amaranthus pumilus

Conservation Status

Cliff Mason Bee

NE — Not Evaluated

coast amaranth

EX — Extinct

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cliff Mason Bee	coast amaranth
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cliff Mason Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Luxembourg, and Sweden.

coast amaranth

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found in Japan.

Cliff Mason Bee

The Cliff Mason Bee, Osmia species, is one of numerous solitary bees in the large genus Osmia, family Megachilidae, whose females construct individual brood cells from mud, clay, or resin in crevices on cliff faces, rock walls, and outcrops. Mason bees are important pollinators of wildflowers and orchard crops, collecting pollen and nectar to provision their nests. Cliff mason bees take advantage of natural crevices in rock faces as nesting sites, plastering cells of mud mixed with sand grains or plant material to subdivide the crevice into individual egg chambers. Each cell contains a pollen-nectar mass food provision and a single egg before being sealed with a mud plug. Males typically emerge first in spring, followed by females, and adults live for only several weeks, devoted entirely to mating and nesting. Cliff-nesting Osmia species are found in rocky habitats across the Holarctic region, from Europe through Asia and North America. The availability of suitable nesting sites on cliff faces, combined with the proximity of diverse wildflower resources, determines population density. Many solitary bee populations have declined in recent decades due to loss of nesting habitat and floral resources. Specific conservation status depends on the species intended.

coast amaranth

Coast amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) is an annual herb in the family Amaranthaceae, native to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the eastern United States, where it once grew on coastal foredunes, beach strand, and shell-hash substrates above the high tide line from New York south to South Carolina. It is a low-growing, fleshy plant with small, rounded leaves and inconspicuous green flowers typical of the genus. Coast amaranth is assessed as Extinct in the Wild by the IUCN, as it has not been reliably documented from wild populations since the mid-20th century; the last confirmed collections date to the 1960s. The species' decline and likely extinction resulted from intense human pressure on Atlantic coastal habitats through shoreline development, beach stabilisation, vehicular traffic on beaches, and increased storm frequency disrupting pioneer dune vegetation. It is federally listed as Threatened in the United States, though this listing predates confirmed extinction in the wild. A small number of ex-situ accessions may exist in botanical garden collections. Genetic material and seed banking efforts represent the only remaining conservation options for this critically reduced species.