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Hoplitis producta producta (Cresson, 1864)

Properties

Scientific Name: Hoplitis producta producta (Cresson, 1864)

Common Name: Produced Small-Mason

Taxonomy

Alcidamea producta Cresson, 1864: 386 [♂].

     Holotype ♂. USA, Virginia [ANSP no. 2250].

*Autochelostoma canadensis Sladen, 1916: 270 [“♂”]. Synonymy by Michener (1947: 288).

     Holotype . CANADA, Ontario, Ottawa(?), [14 August] 1914, by Br. Germain [CNC].

Alcidamea helenae Cockerell, 1934: 6 [♂]. Synonymy by Michener (1947: 288).

     Holotype . USA, Colorado, Boulder, Gregory Canyon, bred from a twig, 5 May 1934, by H. James [AMNH].

 

Taxonomic notes: Cresson (1879: 221) recognized his A. pilosifrons Cresson, 1864 as a variety of H. producta (Cresson, 1864), though this was not followed by Viereck (1916: 751); its status as a valid species was supported by Michener (1947: 283). Cresson (1879: 221) also indicated that his Hoplitis simplex (Cresson, 1864), initially described within the genus Heriades Spinola, 1808, was the ♀ of H. producta; Cockerell (1899: 158) subsequently gave this (i.e., Alcidamea simplex (Cresson) name priority as it appeared early in the work and was followed by Sladen (1916: 272), though that is also now considered a valid species.

Graenicher (1905) studied the nesting biology and parasite associations, and recognized the ♀, as did Crawford (1913: 270) from New Brunswick, Canada; Viereck (1916: 751) recognized it in his key to the species of Connecticut. A full description of the female was provided by Michener (1947: 285, 289).

Gibson (1917: 162) provided more precise collection information for the type specimen of Autochelostoma canadensis Sladen, 1916, indicating that it was collected on 14 August 1914. Cockerell (1922: 143-144) redescribed Autochelostoma canadensis and gave it new status as Chelostoma (subgenus Autochelostoma) Sladen, 1916. Michener (1947: 288) later indicated that the holotype of Autochelostoma canadensis was a gynandromorph, which likely resulted in Sladen (1916: 270) describing it as a new genus and species, and Cockerell (1922) supporting it as a unique taxon.

Michener (1947: 289) indicated that the typical subspecies was found in the United States and southern Canada into the foothills east of the Rocky Mountains, though replaced by H. p. interior Michener, 1947 in the mountains. He also discussed intermediates between the two forms. This it is possible that H. p. interior just represents a variable form of H. p. producta, while H. p. subgracils, with a distinct DNA barcode BIN, may represent a valid taxon.

Biology: Graenicher (1905: 155) indicated that Stelis sexmaculata Ashmead, 1896 (not recorded from Canada) was a nest parasite of H. producta, which was supported by Cockerell (1934: 6) for his Alcidamea helenae Cockerell, 1934, which were reared from the same twig. Comstock (1924), Hicks (1926), and Rau (1928) also studied the nesting biology of this species. Michener (1947: 270) indicated the study of the nesting biology of H. producta (Cresson, 1864) of Davidson (1896) was likely in reference to H. grinnelli (Cockerell, 1910).

Distribution in Canada: Couper 1881 [QC], 1883 [Canada]; Provancher 1882 [Canada?, as Osmia bucconis Say, misidentified, see Sheffield and Perron 2014]; Crawford 1913 [NB]; Sladen 1916 [ON]; Gibson 1917 [ON, as Autochelostoma canadensis Sladen]; Criddle et al. 1924 [AB, SK, ON, QC]; Michener 1947 [AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS]; Hurd and Michener 1955 [AB, SK, ON, QC, NB, NS]; Mitchell 1962 [QC, as H. producta producta (Cresson)]; Sheffield et al. 2003 [NS], 2009 [NS], 2014 [AB, SK, MB]; Richards et al. 2011 [ON]; Normandin et al. 2017 [QC]; Rowe 2017 [AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, PE, NS]; Gibbs et al. 2023 [MB]; Onuferko et al. 2023 [AB, SK].

References

Cockerell TDA (1899) Notes on American bees. Entomologist 32: 154-159.

Viereck HL (1916) The Hymenoptera, or wasp-like insects of Connecticut. Connecticut State Geological and Natural History Survey Bulletin 22: 1-824.

Mitchell TB (1962) Bees of the Eastern United States. Volume 2. North Carolina Agricultural Experimental Station Technical Bulletin 152, Raleigh, 557 pp.

Normandin É, Vereecken NJ, Buddle CM, Fournier V (2017) Taxonomic and functional trait diversity of wild bees in different urban settings. PeerJ 5: e3051.https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3051

Richards MH, Rutgers-Kelly A, Gibbs J, Vickruck JL, Rehan SM, Sheffield CS (2011) Bee diversity in naturalizing patches of Carolinian grasslands in southern Ontario, Canada. The Canadian Entomologist 143(3): 279-299.https://doi.org/10.4039/n11-010

Sheffield C, Perron J (2014) Annotated catalogue of the bees described by Léon Provancher (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). The Canadian Entomologist 146 (2): 117-169.https://doi.org/10.4039/tce.2013.64

Sheffield CS, Frier SD, Dumesh D (2014) The bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Apiformes) of the Prairies Ecozone, with comparisons to other grasslands of Canada. In: Giberson DJ, Cárcamo HA (Eds) Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 4): Biodiversity and Systematics Part 2. 4. Biological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, 479 pp. [ISBN 978-0-9689321-7-9].https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.3752/9780968932179.ch11

Sheffield CS, Kevan PG, Smith RF, Rigby SM, Rogers RE (2003) Bee species of Nova Scotia, Canada, with new records and notes on bionomics and floral relations (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 76(2): 357-384.http://www.jstor.org/stable/25086122

Gibbs J, Hanuschuk E, Miller R, Dubois M, Martini M, Robinson S, Nakagawa P, Sheffield CS, Onuferko T (2023) A checklist of the bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Manitoba, Canada. The Canadian Entomologist 155: E3.https://doi.org/10.4039/tce.2022.45

Sladen FWL (1916) Bees of Canada - Fam. Megachilidae. The Canadian Entomologist 48: 269–272.http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/Ent48269-8

Criddle N, Curran CH, Viereck HL, Buckell ER (1924) The entomological record, 1923. Annual Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario 54: 87-102.

Crawford JC (1913) Some bees from New Brunswick, with description of a new species of Heriades. The Canadian Entomologist 45(8): 269-273. https://doi.org/10.4039/Ent45269-8

Cresson ET (1879) Catalogue of North American Apidae. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 7: 215-232.

Graenicher S (1905) Some observations on the life history and habits of parasitic bees. Bulletin of the Wisconsin Natural History Society 3(4): 153-167.

Gibson A (1917) The entomological record, 1916. Annual Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario 47: 137-171.

Hurd PD, Michener CD (1955) The megachiline bees of California. Bulletin of the California Insect Survey 3: 1-247.

Davidson A (1896) Alcidamea producta Cress. and its parasites. Entomological News 7: 216-218.

Cresson ET (1864) On the North American species of several genera of Apidae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia 2: 373-411.

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

Onuferko TM, Buck M, Gibbs J, Sokoloff PC (2023) Asymmetric responses by bees and aculeate wasps to dune stabilisation across the southern Canadian prairies Insect Diversity and Conservation 16: https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12659

Couper W (1881) Hymenoptera of the island of Montreal. The Canadian Sportsman and Naturalist 1(3): 19.

Couper W (1883) Canadian Hymenoptera. The Canadian Sportsman and Naturalist 3(7): 245-246.

Michener CD (1947) A revision of the American species of Hoplitis (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 89(4): 257-318.

Rowe G (2017) A taxonomic revision of the Canadian non-Osmia Osmiini (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). MSc Thesis, York University, Toronto. xv + 321 pp.

Cockerell TDA (1934) New and little-known western bees. American Museum Novitates 732: 1-6.

Comstock JH (1924) An Introduction to Entomology. Comstock Publishing Co., Ithaca, New York. xix + 1044 pp.

Rau P (1928) The nesting habits of the pulp-making bee Alcidamea producta Cress. Psyche 35: 100-107.

Sociality: Solitary
Nesting: Cavity Renter
Pollen Specialization: Polylectic
Wintering Stage: Mature Larva

Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available

Distribution: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon
Ecozone: Atlantic Maritime, Boreal Shield, Mixwood Plains, Montane Cordillera, Prairie

Distribution Map