Coelioxys rufitarsis Smith, 1854

Coelioxys rufitarsis Smith 1854
Coelioxys dubitata Smith 1854
Coelioxys comstockii Cresson 1878
Coelioxys coloradensis Cresson 1878
Coelioxys rufitarsis rhois Cockerell 1903

Coelioxys comstocki Criddle et al. 1924: 100 [lapsus calami]
Coelioxys rufitarsis claripes Cockerell 1925

Biology

This species is a nest parasite that has been associated with seven different Megachile hosts, most of these ground-nesting species. Graenicher (1905) recorded both M. latimanus and M. melanophaea as hosts. Hicks (1926) reared it (as C. coloradensis Cresson) from a nest of M. montivaga, and also reported it near the nests of M. fortis. Hobbs (1956) and Baker (1975) recorded M. perihirta as a host, the latter based upon specimen label data from Alberta - presumably from Hobbs’ work in the Bow River area. Medler and Lussenhop (1968) reported that D.H. Pengelly found this species using M. texana as a host, and most recently Gordon et al. (2006) reared it from nests of M. wheeleri.

References

Baker JR (1975) Taxonomy of five nearctic subgenera of Coelioxys (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). University of Kansas Science Bulletin (50) 12: 649-730.

Cockerell TDA (1903) North American bees, and a new homopteron. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (7) 12: 442-455.

Cockerell TDA (1925) Bees of the genus Coelioxys in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences. Pan-Pacific Entomologist 1:145-151.

Cresson ET (1878) Catalogue of North American Apidae. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 7: 95-102.

Gordon DM, Thorp RW, Carey JR (2006) Overwintering mortality of brood of Megachile wheeleri Mitchell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) a ground-nesting leafcutter bee in coastal dunes of northern California. Poster. 54th Annual Meeting o f the Entomological Society o f America. Indianapolis, IN. Available from http://esa.confex.com/esa/2006/techprogram/paper_24989.htm

Graenicher S (1905) Some observations on the life history and habits of parasitic bees. Bulletin of the Wisconsin Natural History Society 3: 153-167.

Hicks CH (1926) Nesting habits and parasites of certain bees of Boulder County, Colorado. University of Colorado Studies 15: 217-252.

Hobbs GA (1956) Ecology of the leaf-cutter bee Megachile perihirta Ckll. (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in relation to production of alfalfa seed. The Canadian Entomologist 87: 625-631.

Medler JT, Lussenhop JF (1968) Leaf-cutter bees of Wisconsin (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). University of Wisconsin Research Bulletin 27: 1-80.

Smith F (1854) Catalogue of the Hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum 2: 258-272.