Coelioxys banksi Crawford, 1914
Properties
Scientific Name: Coelioxys banksi Crawford, 1914
Common Name: Banks\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' Cuckoo Leafcutter Bee
Taxonomy
Coelioxys banksi Crawford, 1914: 155 [♀].
Holotype ♀. USA, Virgina, Falls Church, 20 August [no year provided], by N. Banks [USNM no. 18221].
Coelioxys angulifera Cockerell, 1916: 61 [♀, ♂]. Synonymy by Baker (1975: 684).
Holotype ♀. USA, California, Claremont, by Baker (Pomona coll. 195). [AMNH].
Taxonomic notes: Mitchell (1962: 213) considered Coelioxys banksi Crawford, 1914 and junior synonymy of C. moesta Cresson, 1864, though Baker (1975: 684) indicated that this was based on a misidentification.
Though Baker (1975: 684) is credited with the synonymy, Cockerell (1916: 62) suggested that his C. angulifer Cockerell, 1916 likely represented a race of C. banksi. However, he separated it from that species “by the whole breadth of the country”. However, he (Cockerell 1925: 148) and others (e.g., Linsley 1951: 1183) later continued to treat it as a valid species.
Biology: Medler and Koerber (1958) and Frolich et al. (1988) reared this species from trap nests; it has been recorded as a nest parasite of Megachile relativa Cresson, 1878 (Medler and Koerber 1958).
Distribution in Canada: Criddle et al. 1924 [ON]; Baker 1975 [ON]; de Silva 2012 [BC]; Sheffield and Heron 2019 [BC]. NT, AB
References
Medler JT, Koerber TW (1958) Biology of Megachile relativa Cresson in trap-nests in Wisconsin. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 51: 337-344.
Cockerell TDA (1916) New and little known bees from California. Pomona Journal of Entomology and Zoology 8(2): 43-64.
Mitchell TB (1962) Bees of the Eastern United States. Volume 2. North Carolina Agricultural Experimental Station Technical Bulletin 152, Raleigh, 557 pp.
Baker JR (1975) Taxonomy of five Nearctic subgenera of Coelioxys (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). The University of Kansas Science Bulletin 50(12): 649-730.
Sheffield CS, Heron JM (2019) The bees of British Columbia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Apiformes). Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia 115: 44-85.https://journal.entsocbc.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/1001/1097
Criddle N, Curran CH, Viereck HL, Buckell ER (1924) The entomological record, 1923. Annual Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario 54: 87-102.
Frohlich DR, Clark WH, Parker FD, Griswold TL (1988) The xylophilous bees and wasps of a high, cold desert: Leslie Gulch, Oregon (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Vespoidea). The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 64(3): 266-269.
Linsley EG (1951) Genus Coelioxys Latreille. In: Muesebeck CF, Krombein KV, Townes HK (Eds) Hymenoptera of America north of Mexico Synoptic Catalog. 2. United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Monograph, Washington. Pp. 1183-1186.
Crawford JC (1914) Some species of the bee genus Coelioxys. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 7: 148-159.
Cockerell TDA (1925) Bees of the genus Coelioxys in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 1(4): 145-151.
de Silva N (2012) Revision of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Coelioxys (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Canada. MSc Thesis, York University, Toronto, Ontario, xi + 341 pp.
Sociality: Parasitic
Nesting: Ground
Pollen Specialization: Polylectic
Wintering Stage: Mature Larva
Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available
Distribution: Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Quebec
Ecozone: Mixwood Plains, Prairie, Western Interior Basin