Pseudoheriades

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Osmiini
Genus: Pseudoheriades Peters, 1970
Subgenera: none
Common name: none

Overview

Pseudoheriades are slender bees with black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
and white hair bandsbands:
usually referring to bands of hair or bands of color that traverse across an abdominal segment
on their tergaterga:
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
. Pseudoheriades often have coarse punctations on their head, thorax, and abdomen. They range in body length from 4.0–8.5 mm (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Diversity

Pseudoheriades contains 7 described species and at least 3 undescribed species 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.)

• Clypeus clypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  without longitudinal median carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  .
• Metapleuron with a shiny, shelf-like projection.
• Preoccipital carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  present.
• Proboscis proboscis:
  an elongated sucking mouthpart that is typically tubular and flexible
  short, scarcely exceeding fossafossa:
  the large, deep groove on the underside of the head into which the proboscis folds
  .
• Propodeum propodeum:
  the last segment of the thorax
  without carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  posterior to spiraclespiracle:
  a breathing pore, usually occurring on the third thorasic segment
  .
• T1 with a carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  separating anterioranterior:
  toward the head or on the head side of a segment being described
  and dorsaldorsal:
  in general, the upper surface
  surfaces.
• Female S1S1:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  with long, slender spine.
• Male S3S3:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  with median apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  spine.

May be confused with

Pseudoheriades may be confused with Heriades due to similar black, slender, and coarsely punctatepunctate:
studded with tiny holes
bodies. Pseudoheriades differs in that the carinacarina:
a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
of the propodeumpropodeum:
the last segment of the thorax
does not extend behind the propodeal spiraclepropodeal spiracle:
the spiracle bordering the posterior margin of the propodeum
. Pseudoheriades can also be differentiated by the presence of a distinct spine on S1S1:
the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
of the males and median spine on S3S3:
the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
of the females (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

Floral associations are unknown.

Nesting behavior

The nesting habits of Pseudoheriades are largely unknown. Pseudoheriades grandiceps has been recovered nesting in preexisting cavities in wood with cell linings made of leaves or flower petals and cell partitions made from resin (Rozen and Praz 2016Rozen and Praz 2016:
Rozen, J.G. and C.J. Praz. 2016. Mature larvae and nesting biologies of bees currently assigned to the Osmiini (Apoidea: Megachilidae). American Museum Novitates 3864: 1ndash;46.; Gess and Roosenschoon 2017Gess and Roosenschoon 2017:
Gess, S.K. and P.A. Roosenschoon. 2017. Notes on the nesting of three species of Megachilinae in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, UAE. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 54: 43ndash;56.). It most likely used an older megachilid nest which had been lined previously. Pseudoheriades moricei makes cell partitions and nest plugs, which seal the nest, out of resin, sometimes with small pebbles, and it does not line cells (Krombein 1969Krombein 1969:
Krombein, K.V. 1969. Life history notes on some Egyptian solitary wasps and bees and their associates (Hymenoptera: Aculeata). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 19: 1ndash;18.; Gess and Roosenschoon 2017Gess and Roosenschoon 2017:
Gess, S.K. and P.A. Roosenschoon. 2017. Notes on the nesting of three species of Megachilinae in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, UAE. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 54: 43ndash;56.).

Distribution

Pseudoheriades occurs in sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, and India (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

​Distribution map generated by Discover Life -- click on map for details, credits, and terms of use.

References

Gess, S.K. and P.A. Roosenschoon. 2017. Notes on the nesting of three species of Megachilinae in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, UAE. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 54:43-56.
 
Griswold, T.L. 1985. A generic and subgeneric revision of the Heriades genus-group (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Ph.D thesis, Utah State University, 207 pp.
 
Krombein, K.V. 1969. Life history notes on some Egyptian solitary wasps and bees and their associates (Hymenoptera: Aculeata). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 19:1-18.
 
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.
 
Rozen, J.G. and C.J. Praz. 2016. Mature larvaelarvae:
active immature form of an insect, especially one that differs greatly from the adult and forms the stage between egg and pupa
and nesting biologies of bees currently assigned to the Osmiini (Apoidea: Megachilidae). American Museum Novitates 3864:1-46.