1970] 
Eichwort — Mason Bee 
197 
and occasionally Anchusa officinalis Linnaeus. Both plant9 have 
been introduced into eastern North America, where Echium, known 
as viper’s bugloss or blueweed, has become a common weed on dis- 
turbed sites with poor rocky or sandy soil. In the area southwest of 
Albany, New York, Echium is found principally along roadsides, on 
gravel beds along streams, in slate quarries, and in overgrazed pas- 
tures. I observed that the female bees collect pollen only from 
Echium vulgare ( Anchusa was not found there) ; moreover, both 
sexes visit only Echium for nectar. 
This oligotrophy allowed us to accurately plot the range of H. 
anthocopoides by examining roadside stands of Echium , whose dis- 
tinctive appearance can be easily recognized from a slowly moving 
automobile. Peripheral and important central collections of the bee 
are indicated by circles on the Albany County map in Figure 1. All 
of these sites are on the Helderberg Plateau, an extension of the 
Catskill Mountains largely covered by second-growth woodlands and 
pastures. The bee is most abundant to the southwest of Rensselaer- 
ville (center of operations for this study, indicated by a triangle in 
Fig. 1 ) , where extensive rocky pastures provide both nest sites and 
abundant Echium. To the north, the Helderberg Plateau drops 
precipitously to the Mohawk River valley, where Echium is almost 
completely absent. To the south, the plateau descends more gradu- 
ally to the Catskill Creek valley, where Echium is also scarce. 
Hoplitis anthocopoides was represented by few specimens in most 
peripheral collecting sites, sometimes only by a single male, despite 
intensive searching. The bee was not found in patches of Echium 
beyond the indicated range and was also consistently absent from 
some patches within its range boundaries. The extent of the range 
towards the Hudson River in the east, and especially towards Scho- 
harie County in the west, may not be accurate since I was not able 
to cruise many roads in those areas before the end of the bee’s flight 
season. 2 However, a collecting trip through Schoharie County to 
Otsego County during flight season produced no H. anthocopoides 
at apparently suitable stands of Echium. 
In Europe, H. anthocopoides is well known for the mortar-and- 
pebble nests it builds on the surfaces of boulders (see especially 
Gerstaecker, 1869; Torka, 1913; Friese, 1923; and Joker, 1942). 
2 Note added in proof: In 1970 H. anthocopoides was found throughout 
most of Albany County, east to the Hudson River, and west 10 miles into 
Schoharie County. This range extension probably represents previously 
established populations in areas not searched in 1969. 
