Megachile (Mitchellapis)

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Taxonomy

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

Overview

Megachile (Mitchellapis) are elongate bees that range in body length from 12–16 mm (Michener 2007).

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Michener 2007; Gonzalez 2008)

• Female with white apical bands of hairs on the sterna beneath the scopa.
• Female mandible with a cutting edge in the second interspace.
• Female pronotal lobe with a rounded transverse ridge.
• Female S6 with a large, smooth area before an apical fringe.
• Female T6 with long hairs, and a shallowly emarginate and produced apex.
• Male T6 preapical with a median spine.

May be confused with

Megachile (Mitchellapis) may be confused with bees in the subgenera M. (Sayapis) and M. (Neocressoniella) due to their similar body shape and both having a cutting edge in the second interspace (Michener 2007; Gonzalez 2008). Megachile (Mitchellapis) can also differentiated from bees in the subgenus Megachile (Neocressoniella) by the presence of white apical hair bands beneath the scopa (Gonzalez 2008).

Host associations

Megachile (Mitchellapis) are known to visit species of Eucalyptus, also known as gum trees, which are in the family Myrtaceae (USDA-ARS 2020).

Nesting behavior

Megachile (Mitchellapis) nesting behavior is unknown (Houston 2018). They most likely use leaves, resin, and masticated foliage to build their brood cells similar to the behavior seen in the sister groups Megachile (Sayapis) and Megachile (Creightonella) (Gonzalez 2008; Houston 2018).

Diversity

Megachile (Mitchellapis) is a subgenus of six species (Michener 2007; Houston 2018); none are known to occur in the U.S. or Canada.

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Distribution

Megachile (Mitchellapis) are native to Australia, where they range from Queensland to Western Australia (Michener 2007).

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