Megachile casadae Cockerell, 1898
Properties
Scientific Name: Megachile casadae Cockerell, 1898
Common Name: Casad\\\'s Leafcutter Bee
Taxonomy
Megachile Casadae Cockerell, 1898: 127 [♂].
Holotype ♂. USA, New Mexico, Las Cruces [USNM no. 55260].
Megachile populi Cockerell, 1900: 17 [♀]. Synonymy by Mitchell (1936: 348).
Holotype ♀. USA, New Mexico, Mesilla Park, campus of New Mexico Agricultural College, 16 April [no year provided], cutting leaves of Populus, to use in preparing their nests [CAS no. 15655].
Megachile opuntiarum Cockerell, 1906: 229 [♀]. Synonymy of Megachile populi Cockerell, 1900 by Cockerell (1908: 265).
Holotype ♀. USA, Colorado, Boulder, 3 July 1905, by W.P. Cockerell, on Opuntia [CAS no. 15654].
Megachile austinensis Mitchell, 1927: 105 [♀]. Synonymy by Mitchell (1936: 348).
Holotype ♀. USA, Texas, Austin, 8 May 1901, by C.T. Brues [MCZ no. 15707].
Taxonomic notes: Mitchell (1936: 348) based the synonymy of Megachile populi Cockerell, 1900 under Megachile casadae Cockerell, 1898 on collection events that were co-occurring, and based on superficial resemblance. He also felt that his Megachile austinensis Mitchell, 1927 represented only variation in pubescence colouration, and made the synonymy (Mitchell (1936: 348).
DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:AEJ1134
Distribution in Canada: Sheffield et al. 2011, 2014 [AB]; Sheffield pers. obs. [SK]
References
Cockerell TDA (1906) Descriptions and records of bees—VIII. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 7 17(98): 222-230.https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930608562513
Cockerell TDA (1898) Some bees of the genus Megachile from New Mexico and Colorado. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 7 1(): 125-130.
Cockerell TDA (1900) The New Mexico bees of the genus Megachile and a new Andrena. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 7 6(31): 7-20.https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930008678335
Mitchell TB (1927) New megachilid bees. Psyche 34: 104-121.
Mitchell TB (1936) A revision of the genus Megachile in the Nearctic region. Part V. Taxonomy of the subgenus Xeromegachile (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society 62(4): 323-382.https://www.jstor.org/stable/25077381
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
Sociality: Solitary
Nesting: Ground
Pollen Specialization: Broad Oligolecty
Wintering Stage: Mature Larva
Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available
Distribution: Alberta, Saskatchewan
Ecozone: Prairie