Megachile (Tylomegachile)

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Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Megachilini
Genus: Megachile Latreille, 1802
Subgenus: Tylomegachile Titus, 1906
Common name: none

Overview

Megachile (Tylomegachile) are robust bees with black integument on the head, thorax, and abdomen and black to red integument on the legs. They range in body length from 9–13 mm (Michener 2007).

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Michener 2007; Gonzalez 2008)

• Female mandible is four-toothed, with cutting edges absent, or nearly absent, in the second interspace and present in the third interspace.
• Female third mandibular tooth is obtusely angled.
• Female preoccipital carina is absent.
• Female sterna without apical hairbands.
• Male T6 preapical carina with a small median tooth or angle.
• Male T6 apical margin with two large submedian teeth.

May be confused with

Female Megachile (Tylomegachile) may be confused with bees within the subgenus Megachile (Austromegachile) as they have similar mandibles (Michener 2007). Female Megachile (Tylomegachile) can be differentiated from Megachile (Austromegachile) by the lack of a preoccipital carina, lack of white hairbands on the scopa, and a flat clypeus (Michener 2007). Megachile (Tylomegachile) males have a small median tooth on the T6 preapical carina that is not present on the T6 preapical carina of Megachile (Austromegachile) (Michener 2007).

Host associations

Megachile (Tylomegachile) has been observed collecting from Asteraceae, Convolvulaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Papilionaceae, and Mimosaceae (Heithaus 1979; Raw 2007).

Nesting behavior

Megachile (Tylomegachile) are cavity-nesters and have been observed nesting in trap nests; other aspects of their nesting biology are currently unknown (Ferreira de Costa and Gonçalves 2019).

Diversity

Megachile (Tylomegachile) consists of eight species; none are known to occur in the U.S. or Canada (Michener 2007).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Distribution

Megachile (Tylomegachile) are native to the Americas. They are found as far north as Mexico and in South America as far south as Argentina (Michener 2007; Raw 2007).

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