Assessing the impact of an introduced bee, Anthidium manicatum, on pollinator communities in New Zealand

Introduced pollinator species may exacerbate the problems faced by pollinator communities, so the detection in 2006 of a new solitary bee, Anthidium manicatum, to New Zealand was concerning. We assess whether establishment of this wool-carder bee presents potential risks to native flora and fauna by recording its current distribution, which plant species it visits, which insects co-occur at these plants, and identifying which species this territorial bee attacks. Anthidium manicatum is now widespread in urban New Zealand. More than 80% of the plants visited by A. manicatum were exotic species (predominantly Lamiaceae and Plantaginaceae), although it also visited native species of Veronica (Plantaginaceae) and Lobelia (Campanulaceae). Anthidium manicatum primarily interacted with other introduced bees. Native Lasioglossum bees were seldom attacked and only for short durations. Further research is required, particularly on weeds, but we suggest that A. manicatum does not present a major direct threat to New Zealand's native flora and fauna.