Megachile (Digitella)

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Megachilini
Genus: Megachile Latreille, 1802
Subgenus: Digitella Pasteels, 1965
Common name: none

Overview

Megachile (Digitella) includes a single, parallel-sided species with black integument on the head, thorax, and abdomen and red integument on the legs and tegula (Cockerell 1937). They have pale yellow and white hair on their head, and a mixture of black and white hair and pale apical hair bands on the terga (Cockerell 1937). They range in body length from 10–12 mm (Cockerell 1937; Pasteels 1965).

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Cockerell 1937; Pasteels 1965; Gonzalez et al. 2019)

Preoccipital carina absent.
Female mandibles four-toothed with cutting edge absent in the second interspace and a small cutting edge in the third interspace.
Female clypeus with lateral teeth or tubercles and a small median tooth or tubercle.
Female T2 without round fovea laterally.
Female sterna with white apical bands of hair beneath the scopa.
Female supraclypeal area highly polished.
Male front tarsi expanded.
Male front coxa with long spine.
Male mandible three-toothed with a basal tooth on the lower margin that curves backwards.
Male T6 preapical carina denticulate laterally and bilobed medially.
Male T6 apical margin with small lateral spines and no sublateral spines.

May be confused with

Megachile (Digitella) is most similar to Megachile (Eurymella) in the mandibular teeth of both sexes, and the females with white apical hair bands beneath the scopa. Female M. (Digitella) can be distinguished by their clypeus, which has lateral teeth or tubercles and a small median tooth or tubercle. Male M. (Digitella) can be differentiated by the shape of the basal projection on the lower margin of the mandible, which curves backwards, and the medially bilobed preapical carina of T6.

Host associations

Floral associations are unknown.

Nesting behavior

Nesting behavior is unknown.

Diversity

Megachile (Digitella) includes a single species, Megachile digiticauda (Gonzalez et al. 2019).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Distribution

Megachile (Digitella) are uncommon, but have been reported from Africa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe (Cockerell 1937; Gonzalez et al. 2019).

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