The genus ''Megachile'' is a
cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Internationalism
* World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship
* Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community
* Cosmopolitan ...
group of solitary
bee
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...
s, often called leafcutter bees or leafcutting bees; it also includes the resin bees and mortar bees. While other
genera
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
within the family
Megachilidae
Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Characteristic traits of this family are the restriction of their pollen-carrying structure (called a '' scopa'') to the ventral surface of the abdomen (rather than mostly or exclu ...
may chew leaves or petals into fragments to build their nests, certain species within ''Megachile'' neatly cut pieces of leaves or petals, hence their common name. This is one of the largest genera of bees, with more than 1500 species
in over 50 subgenera. The alfalfa leafcutter bee (''
Megachile rotundata
''Megachile rotundata'', the alfalfa leafcutting bee, is a European bee that has been introduced to various regions around the world. As a solitary bee species, it does not build colonies or store honey, but is a very efficient pollinator of alfa ...
'') is managed on a commercial scale for
crop pollination, and has been introduced by humans to various regions around the world.
Ecology
Nests are sometimes constructed within hollow twigs or other similarly constricted natural cavities, but often are in burrows in the ground. Nests are typically composed of single long columns of cells, the cells being sequentially constructed from the deepest portion of the tunnel outwards. The female places an egg in each cell with a supply of food, generally pollen, sometimes mixed with nectar. She builds a cap and walls off the cell. The larva hatches from the egg and consumes the food supply. After moulting a few times, it spins a cocoon and pupates, often after several months of
hibernation
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic reduction entered by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It is mos ...
as a
prepupa
The prepupa is a stage in the life cycle of certain Insect, insects, following the larva or Nymph (biology), nymph and preceding the pupa. It occurs in both Holometabolism, holometabolous and Hemimetabolism, hemimetabolous insects.
Examples
...
. It emerges from the nest as an adult. Males, which are typically smaller and emerge in advance of females, die shortly after mating, but females survive for another few weeks, during which time they build new nests. Numerous families of wasps and bees parasitize ''Megachile'' nests, including
Gasteruptiidae
The Gasteruptiidae are one of the more distinctive families among the apocritan wasps, with surprisingly little variation in appearance for a group that contains around 500 species in two subfamilies (Gasteruptiinae and Hyptiogastrinae) and with ...
,
Leucospidae
The Leucospidae (sometimes incorrectly spelled Leucospididae) are a specialized group of wasps within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, that are ectoparasitoids of aculeata, aculeate wasps or bees. They are typically mimicry, mimics of bees or sting ...
,
Sapygidae
The Sapygidae are a family of solitary kleptoparasitic aculeate wasps. They are generally black wasps, similar in appearance to some Tiphiidae or Thynnidae, with white or yellow markings developed to various degrees.
The female oviposits her eg ...
, and various
kleptoparasitic
Kleptoparasitism (originally spelt clepto-parasitism, meaning "parasitism by theft") is a form of feeding in which one animal deliberately takes food from another. The strategy is evolutionarily stable when stealing is less costly than direct fe ...
megachilids, such as the closely related genus ''
Coelioxys''. ''
M. rotundata'' and ''
M. campanulae'' are among of the first insects documented in scientific literature to use
synthetic materials for making nests.
Many ''Megachile'' species use cut leaves to line the cells of their nests. It is thought that the leaf discs help prevent the
desiccation
Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic (attracts and holds water) substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container. The ...
of the larva's food supply.
[ Various species in the genus, especially those in the subgenus '']Chalicodoma
''Chalicodoma'' is a subgenus of the bee genus ''Megachile'' in the family Megachilidae.
Species
* '' Megachile albocristata''
* '' Megachile albonotata''
* '' Megachile alborufa''
* '' Megachile apennina''
* '' Megachile atrocastanea''
* '' M ...
'' and related groups, do not use cut leaves to line the cells, but instead use fairly dry plant resin, which they carry in their mandibles. The subgenus ''Chalicodoma'' includes the world's largest bee, '' Megachile pluto'', as well as one of the largest megachilids in the United States, the recently introduced Asian species, ''Megachile sculpturalis
''Megachile sculpturalis'', known as the giant resin bee and sculptured resin bee, is a species of leafcutting bees belonging to the family Megachilidae.
Distribution
Native to Japan and China, it has been introduced to the Eastern United States ...
''.
Some ''Megachile'' species have no lobe (arolia) between their claws, thus are unable to climb smooth walls or glass.Baker, Donald B.; Engel, Michael S. A new subgenus of Megachile from Borneo with arolia (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae). American Museum novitates; no. 3505
/ref>
Leafcutter bee by Bernhard plank.jpg, ''Megachile centuncularis
''Megachile centuncularis'', commonly known as the patchwork leafcutter bee, is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. It was first described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
Description
The Megachilidae are long-tongued, ...
'' cutting a leaf
Megachile-pjt.jpg, ''Megachile sp.'' with cut leaf
Leafcutting 1 6431.JPG, Leaves cut by ''Megachile'' sp.
Leaf_cutter_bee_nest.jpg, Dissected nest of a ''Megachile'' bee
Leaf_cutter_bee_nests.jpg, Nests of ''Megachile'' bees from Bangalore, India.
Cut_leaf_bits_from_a_Leaf-cutter_Bee.jpg, Dissected cut leaf bits from a nest.
Diversity
The genus ''Megachile'' contains 56 subgenera with 1520 recognized species.[ See also the list of ''Megachile'' species.
Notable subgenera:
* '']Callomegachile
''Callomegachile'' is a subgenus of the bee genus ''Megachile'' in the family Megachilidae.
Species
* '' Megachile albobasalis''
* '' Megachile alboscopacea''
* '' Megachile ambigua''
* '' Megachile anomomaculata''
* '' Megachile antinorii''
* ...
''
* ''Chalicodoma
''Chalicodoma'' is a subgenus of the bee genus ''Megachile'' in the family Megachilidae.
Species
* '' Megachile albocristata''
* '' Megachile albonotata''
* '' Megachile alborufa''
* '' Megachile apennina''
* '' Megachile atrocastanea''
* '' M ...
''
* ''Chelostomoides
''Chelostomoides'' is a subgenus of bees in the genus ''Megachile
The genus ''Megachile'' is a cosmopolitan group of solitary bees, often called leafcutter bees or leafcutting bees; it also includes the resin bees and mortar bees. While ...
''
Notable species:
* ''Megachile albisecta
''Megachile albisecta'' is a species of leafcutter bee in the family Megachilidae
Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Characteristic traits of this family are the restriction of their pollen-carrying structure (c ...
'' (Klug, 1817)
* '' Megachile campanulae'', bellflower resin bee
* ''Megachile fidelis
''Megachile fidelis'', the faithful leafcutting bee, is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae.
This species is found in the western United States, where it ranges from Montana and South Dakota to New Mexico, west to California and north t ...
'', faithful leafcutting bee
* '' Megachile perihirta'', western leafcutting bee
* '' Megachile pluto'', the largest bee in the world
* ''Megachile rotundata
''Megachile rotundata'', the alfalfa leafcutting bee, is a European bee that has been introduced to various regions around the world. As a solitary bee species, it does not build colonies or store honey, but is a very efficient pollinator of alfa ...
'', alfalfa leafcutter bee
* ''Megachile rubi
''Megachile rubi'' is a species of leaf cutting bee in the family Megachilidae, found in the eastern United States. First described by Mitchell in 1924, it is placed in the subgenus ''Xeromegachile'', members of which are most often found in sa ...
''
* ''Megachile sculpturalis
''Megachile sculpturalis'', known as the giant resin bee and sculptured resin bee, is a species of leafcutting bees belonging to the family Megachilidae.
Distribution
Native to Japan and China, it has been introduced to the Eastern United States ...
'', giant resin bee
* ''Megachile texana
''Megachile texana'', the Texas leafcutter bee, is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. It was first described by the American entomologist Ezra Townsend Cresson in 1878. It is native to the United States and southern Canada.
Description ...
'', Texas leafcutter bee
Gallery
Megachile fortis (head) from Badlands National Park, South Dakota - USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory.jpg, ''Megachile fortis
''Megachile fortis'' is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. It was described by Cresson in 1872.
References
Fortis
Fortis may refer to:
Business
* Fortis (Swiss watchmaker), a Swiss watch company
* Fortis Films, an American f ...
''
Megachile ericetorum.jpg, '' Megachile ericetorum''
Megachile Subgenus Xanthosarus male.jpg, Male ''Megachile'' Subgenus ''Xanthosarus'' with modified front legs
Megachile shelter 1.jpg, Shelter built for ''Megachile''
File:LeafCutterLyd.png, Leafcutter bee life cycle
File:Leafcutter bee pupae.png, Comparison between a modern pupa and a fossil pupa from the La Brea Tar Pits
File:Megachile inimica female sunflower.jpg, ''Megachile inimica'' female
File:Megachile pugnata pugnata female.jpg, ''Megachile pugnata pugnata'' female
References
* , 2006: A New Subgenus of ''Megachile'' from Borneo with Arolia (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). ''American Museum Novitates'' 3505 : 1–12. . Full article
* , 2006: The subgenus ''Megachile (Dasymegachile)'' Mitchell with special reference to the Argentine species (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). ''Neotropical Entomology'' 35 (6): 791–802. Abstract and full article: .
* ; 2009: Cladistic analysis of ''Megachile'' (''Chrysosarus'') Mitchell and revalidation of ''Megachile'' (''Dactylomegachile'') Mitchell (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae)
''Zootaxa''
2284: 48–62
Abstract & excerpt
* , 2008: A new species of Megachile (Eutricharaea) from western Saudi Arabia related to Megachile walkeri (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). ''Acta Entomologica Slovenica'' 16(2).
* ; ; , 2012: A review of ''Megachile'' (''Chelostomoda'') Michener (Megachilidae: Megachilini) known from China with the description of a new species. Zootaxa
''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week ...
, 3267: 55–64
Preview
* , 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.
External links
''Megachile'' Identification Guide (female)
discoverlife.org
''Megachile'' Identification Guide (male)
discoverlife.org
List of Species
discoverlife.org
Worldwide Species Map
discoverlife.org
{{Taxonbar, from=Q261844
Bee genera