Megachile (Chelostomoda)

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Megachilini
Genus: Megachile Latreille, 1802
Subgenus: Chelostomoda Michener, 1962
Common name: none

Overview

Megachile (Chelostomoda) are black bees with white apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
bands on the 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
, and yellow or white 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
(Wu 2005Wu 2005:
Wu, Y. 2005. A study on the genus Megachile Latreille from China with descriptions of fourteen new species (Apoidea, Megachilidae). Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica 30(1): 155-165.; Niu et al. 2012Niu et al. 2012:
Niu, Z., Y. Wu, and C. Zhu. 2012. A review of Megachile ( Chelostomoda ) Michener (Megachilidae: Megachilini) known from China with the description of a new species. Zootaxa 3267: 55-64.). They range in body length from 6.5–10 mm (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

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.; Gonzalez 2008Gonzalez 2008:
Gonzalez, V.H. 2008. Phylogeny and classification of the bee tribe Megachilini (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae), with emphasis on the genus Megachile. Thesis: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the College of Liberal Arts and Science of the University of Kansas: 1-274.)

• T2 and T3T3:
  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
  with strong postgradular grooves which are not hairy.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  has five teeth, and the second interspace has a large, incomplete cutting edge.
• Female pronotal lobepronotal lobe:
  a part of the pronotum located dorsally on the posterior margin of the pronotum and overlaps the anterior thoracic spiracle
  has a strong transverse carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  .
• Female S2–S4 have laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  bands of white hairs on the underside.
• Female S6S6:
  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
  is uniformly punctatepunctate:
  studded with tiny holes
  and hairy.
• Female 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
  with short hairs and a rounded apexapex:
  end of any structure
  .
• Male S4S4:
  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
  is almost entirely retracted, and is less sclerotizedsclerotized:
  hardened by the formation of sclerotin, specifically the exoskeleton of an insect
  , punctatepunctate:
  studded with tiny holes
  , and hairy than S2S2:
  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
  and 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
  .

May be confused with

Megachile (Chelostomoda) may be confused with bees within the genus Hackeriapis due to a similar appearance, small body length, and T2–T3 with strong postgradular grooves (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). Female Megachile (Chelostomoda) can be differentiated from Hackeriapis by the presence of apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
hairs from S2–S4 and by the large, incomplete cutting edge in the second interspace of the mandiblemandible:
bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
(Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Host associations

Megachile (Chelostomoda) has been observed visiting Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae, Oxalidaceae, Rubiaceae, Scrophulariaceae, and Zingiberaceae (Karunaratne et al. 2005Karunaratne et al. 2005:
Karunaratne, W.A.I.P., J.P. Edirisinghe, and C.S. Gunatilleke. 2005. Floral relationships of bees in selected areas of Sri Lanka. Ceylon Journal of Science 34: 27-45.; Niu et al. 2012Niu et al. 2012:
Niu, Z., Y. Wu, and C. Zhu. 2012. A review of Megachile ( Chelostomoda ) Michener (Megachilidae: Megachilini) known from China with the description of a new species. Zootaxa 3267: 55-64.).

Nesting behavior

Megachile (Chelostomoda) nests in pre-existing cavities. Nest plugs are constructed using irregular pieces of leaves and leaf pulp (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; Gonzalez 2008Gonzalez 2008:
Gonzalez, V.H. 2008. Phylogeny and classification of the bee tribe Megachilini (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae), with emphasis on the genus Megachile. Thesis: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the College of Liberal Arts and Science of the University of Kansas: 1-274.).

Diversity

Megachile (Chelostomoda) consists of fourteen species (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.

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Distribution

Megachile (Chelostomoda) are native to Asia and Australia. They range from India to as far west as Japan and the Solomon Islands, and as far south as northern Australia (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). One specimen of M. spissula was collected in Hamburg, Germany. This specimen was likely transported from Asia within a nest and is not established in Germany (Praz 2017Praz 2017:
Praz, C.J. 2017. Subgeneric classification and biology of the leafcutter and dauber bees (genus Megachile Latreille) of the western Palearctic (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Megachilidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 55: 1-54.).

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

References

Gonzalez, V.H. 2008. Phylogeny and classification of the bee tribe Megachilini (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae), with emphasis on the genus Megachile. Thesis: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the College of Liberal Arts and Science of the University of Kansas: 1-274.

Karunaratne, W.A.I.P., J.P. Edirisingheand, and C.S. Gunatilleke. 2005. Floral relationships of bees in selected areas of Sri Lanka. Ceylon Journal of Science 34: 27-45.

Michener, C.D. 1965. A classification of the bees of the Australian and South Pacific regions. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 130.

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

Niu, Z., Y. Wu, and C. Zhu. 2012. A review of Megachile (Chelostomoda) Michener (Megachilidae: Megachilini) known from China with the description of a new species. Zootaxa 3267: 55-64.

Praz, C.J. 2017. Subgeneric classification and biology of the leafcutter and dauber bees (genus Megachile Latreille) of the western PalearcticPalearctic:
the largest biogeographic region; consists of Europe, Asia north of the Himalaya foothills, Northern Africa, and the northern and central parts of the Arabian Peninsula
(Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Megachilidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 55: 1-54.

Wu, Y. 2005. A study on the genus Megachile Latreille from China with descriptions of fourteen new species (Apoidea, Megachilidae). Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica 30: 155-165.