Megachile (Eutricharaea)

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Megachilini
Genus: Megachile Latreille, 1802
Subgenus: Eutricharaea Thomson, 1872
Common name: none

Overview

Megachile (Eutricharaea) are highly variable in color, but many species are small with black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
and pale apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
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
(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.). Female Megachile (Eutricharaea) usually have 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
except for on the apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
sterna, but can have entirely golden or black 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
in rare cases (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; 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.). Megachile (Eutricharaea) range in body length from 5–16 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.; 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.)

• 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
  elongate, length more than 2.5 times its maximum width.
• Female hind tarsal claw with basalbasal:
  originating at the foundation of a structure
  seta modified to a short, thick process.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  is four-toothed with the upper tooth sometimes incised giving it the appearance of five-toothed.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  usually without a cutting edge in the second interspace; rarely there are species with a very small cutting edge in this space.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  with a complete cutting edge in the third interspace, although it can sometimes be hidden behind the margin of the mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  .
• Female sternasterna:
  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 apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  hair bandsbands:
  usually referring to bands of hair or bands of color that traverse across an abdominal segment
  beneath 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
  .
• Male front coxacoxa:
  the basal segment of the leg
  with tooth or spine.
• Male mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  three-toothed with basalbasal:
  originating at the foundation of a structure
  projection on the lower margin.
• Male 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
  preapicalpreapical:
  referring to a section of a bee that is physically found just before the outermost (or apical) end of the section or segment
  carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  is strong and denticulatedenticulate:
  a small tooth-like projection
  , sometimes with a median emarginationemargination:
  a notched or cut out place in an edge or margin, can be dramatic or simply a subtle inward departure from the general curve or line of the margin or structure being described
  . The discdisc:
  a generic term for the middle surface of a plate (usually in reference to an abdominal segment)
  above the preapicalpreapical:
  referring to a section of a bee that is physically found just before the outermost (or apical) end of the section or segment
  carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  is covered with often dense white hair.

May be confused with

Megachile (Eutricharaea) is likely to be confused with Megachile (Eurymella) since they are both similar in size and both have a robust mandiblemandible:
bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
with an enlarged apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
tooth (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.). Megachile (Eutricharaea) has a longer 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
than Megachile (Eurymella) and also has thickened basalbasal:
originating at the foundation of a structure
setae on the tarsal claw of the hind leg (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.).

Host associations

Megachile (Eutricharaea) are generalists that have been observed visiting Amaranthaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Brassicaceae, Carduoideae, Chenopodiaceae, Cleomaceae, Convolvulaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Hydrophyllaceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae, Nelumbonaceae, Plantaginaceae, Polygonaceae, Rutaceae, Tamaricaceae, Verbenaceae, and Zygophyllaceae (Westrich 1989Westrich 1989:
Westrich, P. 1989. Die Wildbienen Baden-Wuuml;rttembergs. Eugen Ulmer GmbH amp; Co., Stuttgart, 972 pp.; Raw 2007Raw 2007:
Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile ) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127.).

Nesting behavior

Megachile (Eutricharaea) nest in pre-existing cavities in soil, stems, beetle burrows, and under stones (Ferton 1914Ferton 1914:
Ferton, C. 1914. Notes détachées sur lrsquo;instinct des hymeacute;noptegrave;res Mellifegrave;res et ravisseurs (8ème série) avec la description de quelques espegrave;ces nouvelles. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 83: 81ndash;119.; Alqarni et al. 2014Alqarni et al. 2014:
Alqarni, A.S., M.A. Hannan, V.H. Gonzalez, and M.S Engel. 2014. Nesting biology of the leafcutting bee Megachile minutissima (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in central Saudi Arabia. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 107: 635ndash;640.). They also occasionally dig burrows in sandy or hard soil (Westrich 1989Westrich 1989:
Westrich, P. 1989. Die Wildbienen Baden-Wuuml;rttembergs. Eugen Ulmer GmbH amp; Co., Stuttgart, 972 pp.; Mazzucco and Mazzucco 2007Mazzucco and Mazzucco 2007:
Mazzucco, K. and R. Mazzucco. 2007. Wege der Mikroevolution und Artbildung bei Bienen (Apoidea, Hymenoptera): Populationsgenetische und empirische Aspekte. Denisia 20, zugleich Kataloge der oberösterreichischen Landesmuseen Neue Serie 66: 617ndash;685.). Leaf discs and pieces of petals are used to construct their brood cells (Westrich 1989Westrich 1989:
Westrich, P. 1989. Die Wildbienen Baden-Wuuml;rttembergs. Eugen Ulmer GmbH amp; Co., Stuttgart, 972 pp.). Nest plugs are comprised of layers of leaf discs and mud mixed with saliva (Ferton 1914Ferton 1914:
Ferton, C. 1914. Notes détachées sur lrsquo;instinct des hymeacute;noptegrave;res Mellifegrave;res et ravisseurs (8ème série) avec la description de quelques espegrave;ces nouvelles. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 83: 81ndash;119.).

Diversity

Megachile (Eutricharaea) is the most diverse subgenus of Megachile, and consists of approximately 240 species, nine of which have been introduced to the U.S. and several Caribbean islands (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; Raw 2007Raw 2007:
Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile ) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127.; 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.; Moure et al. 2007Moure et al. 2007:
Moure, J.S., D. Urban, and G.A.R. Melo. 2007. Catalogue of bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical region. Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia, Curitiba (Parana), xiv + 1058 pp.; Rasmussen 2012Rasmussen 2012:
Rasmussen, C. 2012. Megachile timberlakei Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Yet another adventive bee species to the Galapagos archipelago. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 88: 98-102.).

Known invasives

Nine species of Megachile (Eutricharaea) have been introduced to the U.S. and Caribbean: Megachile apicalis, M. chlorura, M. concinna, M. derelictula, M. diligens, M. fullawayi, M.multidens, M. rotundata, and M. timberlakei (Raw 2007Raw 2007:
Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile ) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127.).

Megachile (Eutricharaea) apicalis occurs naturally in the 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
and has been introduced to California (Hurd 1954Hurd 1954:
Hurd, P.D. Jr. 1954. Distributional notes on Eutricharaea , a Palearctic subgenus of Megachile, which has become established in the United States (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Entomology News 15: 93-95.; Moure et al. 2007Moure et al. 2007:
Moure, J.S., D. Urban, and G.A.R. Melo. 2007. Catalogue of bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical region. Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia, Curitiba (Parana), xiv + 1058 pp.; Rasmussen 2012Rasmussen 2012:
Rasmussen, C. 2012. Megachile timberlakei Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Yet another adventive bee species to the Galapagos archipelago. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 88: 98-102.).

Megachile (Eutricharaea) chlorura, M. diligens, M. fullawayi, and M. timberlakei were introduced to Hawaii from Southeast Asia (Moore et al. 2008; Ascher and Pickering 2012; Rasmussen 2012Rasmussen 2012:
Rasmussen, C. 2012. Megachile timberlakei Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Yet another adventive bee species to the Galapagos archipelago. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 88: 98-102.). M. timberlakei was also introduced to the Galapagos Islands (Moure et al. 2007Moure et al. 2007:
Moure, J.S., D. Urban, and G.A.R. Melo. 2007. Catalogue of bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical region. Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia, Curitiba (Parana), xiv + 1058 pp.; Rasmussen 2012Rasmussen 2012:
Rasmussen, C. 2012. Megachile timberlakei Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Yet another adventive bee species to the Galapagos archipelago. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 88: 98-102.).

Megachile (Eutricharaea) concinna was likely accidentally introduced to the West Indies from Africa during the slave trade (Eickwort 1970Eickwort 1970:
Eickwort, G.C. 1970. Hoplitis anthocopoides, a European mason bee established in New York state (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae).; Raw 1985Raw 1985:
Raw, A. 1985. The ecology of Jamaican bees (Hymenoptera). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 29: 1ndash;16.). It has since spread to the U.S. and the Dominican Republic (Moure et al. 2007Moure et al. 2007:
Moure, J.S., D. Urban, and G.A.R. Melo. 2007. Catalogue of bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical region. Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia, Curitiba (Parana), xiv + 1058 pp.; Rasmussen 2012Rasmussen 2012:
Rasmussen, C. 2012. Megachile timberlakei Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Yet another adventive bee species to the Galapagos archipelago. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 88: 98-102.).

Megachile (Eutricharaea) derelictula was introduced to Barbados from sub-Saharan Africa (Moure et al. 2007Moure et al. 2007:
Moure, J.S., D. Urban, and G.A.R. Melo. 2007. Catalogue of bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical region. Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia, Curitiba (Parana), xiv + 1058 pp.; Rasmussen 2012Rasmussen 2012:
Rasmussen, C. 2012. Megachile timberlakei Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Yet another adventive bee species to the Galapagos archipelago. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 88: 98-102.).

Megachile (Eutricharaea) multidens was introduced to Jamaica from South Africa (Moure et al. 2007Moure et al. 2007:
Moure, J.S., D. Urban, and G.A.R. Melo. 2007. Catalogue of bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical region. Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia, Curitiba (Parana), xiv + 1058 pp.; Rasmussen 2012Rasmussen 2012:
Rasmussen, C. 2012. Megachile timberlakei Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Yet another adventive bee species to the Galapagos archipelago. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 88: 98-102.).

Megachile (Eutricharaea) rotundata, the alfalfa-leafcutter bee, was intentionally introduced from their native 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
range to California in the 1940-50s to increase alfalfa pollination (Hurd 1954Hurd 1954:
Hurd, P.D. Jr. 1954. Distributional notes on Eutricharaea , a Palearctic subgenus of Megachile, which has become established in the United States (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Entomology News 15: 93-95.). They are now in widespread use by alfalfa seed producers in the U.S. (Hurd 1954Hurd 1954:
Hurd, P.D. Jr. 1954. Distributional notes on Eutricharaea , a Palearctic subgenus of Megachile, which has become established in the United States (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Entomology News 15: 93-95.). They have also been introduced to Chile, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand for the same purpose (Raw 2007Raw 2007:
Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile ) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127.; Moure et al. 2007Moure et al. 2007:
Moure, J.S., D. Urban, and G.A.R. Melo. 2007. Catalogue of bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical region. Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia, Curitiba (Parana), xiv + 1058 pp.; Rasmussen 2012Rasmussen 2012:
Rasmussen, C. 2012. Megachile timberlakei Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Yet another adventive bee species to the Galapagos archipelago. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 88: 98-102.).

Distribution

Megachile (Eutricharaea) range from southern Europe to southern Africa to eastern and southern Asia, Australia, and Oceania (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). Nine species were introduced to the continental U.S., Hawaii, and several Caribbean islands, including the West Indies, the Dominican Republic, Barbados, and Jamaica (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; Raw 2007Raw 2007:
Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile ) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127.; Moure et al. 2007Moure et al. 2007:
Moure, J.S., D. Urban, and G.A.R. Melo. 2007. Catalogue of bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical region. Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia, Curitiba (Parana), xiv + 1058 pp.; Rasmussen 2012Rasmussen 2012:
Rasmussen, C. 2012. Megachile timberlakei Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Yet another adventive bee species to the Galapagos archipelago. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 88: 98-102.).

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References

Alqarni, A.S., M.A. Hannan, V.H. Gonzalez, and M.S Engel. 2014. Nesting biology of the leafcutting bee Megachile minutissima (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in central Saudi Arabia. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 107: 635–640.

Eickwort, G.C. 1970. Hoplitis anthocopoides, a European mason bee established in New York State (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Psyche 77: 190–201.

Ferton, C. 1914. Notes détachées sur l’instinct des hyménoptères Mellifères et ravisseurs (8ème série) avec la description de quelques espèces nouvelles. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 83: 81–119.

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.

Hurd, P.D. Jr. 1954. Distributional notes on Eutricharaea, a 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
subgenus of Megachile, which has become established in the United States (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Entomology News 15: 93-95.

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.

Mazzucco, K. and R. Mazzucco. 2007. Wege der Mikroevolution und Artbildung bei Bienen (Apoidea, Hymenoptera): Populationsgenetische und empirische Aspekte. Denisia 20, zugleich Kataloge der oberösterreichischen Landesmuseen Neue Serie 66: 617–685.

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

Moure, J.S., D. Urban, and G.A.R. Melo. 2007. Catalogue of bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the NeotropicalNeotropical:
biogeographic region that includes South and Central America, the Caribbean Islands, southern Florida, and the southern Mexican lowlands
region. Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia, Curitiba (Parana), xiv + 1058 pp.

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.

Rasmussen, C. 2012. Megachile timberlakei Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Yet another adventive bee species to the Galapagos archipelago. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 88: 98-102.

Raw, A. 1985. The ecology of Jamaican bees (Hymenoptera). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 29: 1–16.

Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127.

Westrich, P. 1989. Die Wildbienen Baden-Württembergs. Ulmer, Stuttgart, 972 pp.