Fidelia

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Fideliinae
Tribe: Fideliini
Genus: Fidelia Friese, 1899
Subgenera: Fidelia, Fideliana, Fideliopsis, Parafidelia
Common name: none

Overview

Fidelia are robust bees that can range in body length from 12–23 mm (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). The integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
of the body is black, with some species having yellow on the clypeusclypeus:
a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
of both sexes and T6T6:
the segments on the top side of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, or T7
of females. They have an overall pale appearance due to the dense, long, and light-colored hairs that cover the body (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). The basitarsibasitarsi:
the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
and tibiatibia:
the segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
bear long hairs that resemble scopascopa:
modified hairs for carrying pollen; often branched and dense hairs on the hind-leg, or on the ventral surface of the abdomen in Megachilidae
; however, the setaesetae:
a still hair-like structure or bristle
are not used for pollen gathering and instead assist in throwing loosened substrates out of the burrow during nest construction. Pollen is carried with the scopascopa:
modified hairs for carrying pollen; often branched and dense hairs on the hind-leg, or on the ventral surface of the abdomen in Megachilidae
on the ventralventral:
of, on, or relating to the underside of an animal, or segment of an animal
surface of the abdomen as in most Megachilidae (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Diversity

Fidelia contains 12 species in 4 subgenera worldwide (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.); none are known to occur in the U.S. or Canada.

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.)

• Mandible mandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  bifidbifid:
  divided into two branches; forked
  or deeply bilobed.
• Clypeus clypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  separated from antennal bases by less than the diameter of the antennal socket.
• Forewings are hairless with three submarginal cellssubmarginal cells:
  one or more cells of the wing lying immediately behind the marginal cells
  .
• Male hind basitarsusbasitarsus:
  the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
  not enlarged or modified (when compared to Neofidelia).
• Female hind basitarsusbasitarsus:
  the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
  broadest at the base and tapering toward the apexapex:
  end of any structure
  .

May be confused with

Fidelia is similar to Neofidelia; however, both sexes can be distinguished by the characters of the hind basitarsusbasitarsus:
the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
. Neofidelia males have enlarged and modified basitarsibasitarsi:
the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
that form two large talons, while the basitarsibasitarsi:
the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
of Fidelia are not modified. The hind basitarsibasitarsi:
the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
of Neofidelia are parallel-sided, which differs from those of Fidelia that have basitarsibasitarsi:
the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
that taper toward the apexapex:
end of any structure
(Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Host associations

Species within Fidelia are often specialized, although specific pollen preferences vary by species. Members of Fidelia may be specialized on Rosaceae, Zygophyllaceae, Aizoaceae, Pedaliceae, Asteraceae, and Convolvulaceae (Whitehead 1984Whitehead 1984:
Whitehead, V.B. 1984. Distribution, biology, and flower relationships of fideliid bees of southern Africa (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Fideliidae). African Zoology 19: 87ndash;90.; Engel 2004Engel 2004:
Engel, M.S. 2004. Fideliine phylogeny and classification revisited (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 77: 821ndash;836.). The subgenus Fidelia specializes on the Aizoaceae subfamily Mesembryanthemoidea (Whitehead 1984Whitehead 1984:
Whitehead, V.B. 1984. Distribution, biology, and flower relationships of fideliid bees of southern Africa (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Fideliidae). African Zoology 19: 87ndash;90.).

Nesting behavior

Female Fidelia excavate branched shallow burrows in the soil (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). The nest branches terminate in unlined cells that are widened and dug horizontally. Pollen provisions are moistened and packed into the end of each cell (Rozen 1977Rozen 1977:
Rozen, J.G. 1977. The ethology and systematic relationships of Fideliine bees, including a description of the mature larva of Parafidelia (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). American Museum Novitates 2637: 1ndash;15.). The female uses her modified pygidiumpygidium:
the terminal part or hind segment of the body
to sculpt the provisional mass into a dish-like shape, and oviposits an egg into the convexconvex:
curved outward
mass. In F. pallidula, additional pollen provisions are laid on top of the provisions already in place, leaving an open chamber for the egg. Two to three layers of provisions may be built on top of one another with an egg chamber in between each layer (Rozen 1977Rozen 1977:
Rozen, J.G. 1977. The ethology and systematic relationships of Fideliine bees, including a description of the mature larva of Parafidelia (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). American Museum Novitates 2637: 1ndash;15.).

Distribution

Fidelia occurs in southern Africa, from Namibia and Botswana to South Africa, along xericxeric:
a very dry habitat
areas. Fidelia ulrikei is endemic to Morocco (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

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References

Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.

Engel, M.S. 2004. Fideliine phylogeny and classification revisited (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 77:821-836.

Rozen, J.G. 1977. The ethology and systematic relationships of Fideliine bees, including a description of the mature larvalarva:
active immature form of an insect, especially one that differs greatly from the adult and forms the stage between egg and pupa
of Parafidelia (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). American Museum Novitates 2637:1-15.

Whitehead, V.B. 1984. Distribution, biology, and flower relationships of Fideliid bees of southern Africa (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Fideliidae). African Zoology 19:87-90.