Bees of Canada Logo

Megachile mellitarsis Cresson, 1878

Properties

Scientific Name: Megachile mellitarsis Cresson, 1878

Common Name: Yellow-legged Leafcutter Bee

Taxonomy

Megachile mellitarsis Cresson, 1878: 121 [♂].

     Holotype ♂. USA, Colorado, by Morrison [ANSP no. 2462].

Megachile terrestris Cockerell, 1908: 260 [♀]. Preoccupied, not Megachile terrestris Schrottky, 1902. Synonymy by Mitchell (1937: 194).

     Holotype ♀. USA, Colorado, Florissant, 8000 feet, flying over the ground, 14 June 1907, by S.A. Rohwer [USNM no. 29386].

Megachile geophila Cockerell, 1908: 460. Replacement name for Megachile terrestris Cockerell, 1908. Synonymy by Mitchell (1937: 194).

 

Taxonomic notes: Although Mitchell (1937: 194) did not indicate that these were new synonymies, he did indicate that it was little doubt of the associated sexes due to the colouration of the tarsi.

DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:AAF4666

Distribution in Canada: Mitchell 1937 [BC]; Buckell 1950 [BC]; Sheffield et al. 2011 [BC]; Sheffield and Heron 2019 [BC].

References

Cockerell TDA (1908) A new name in Megachile. The Canadian Entomologist 40(12): 460.https://doi.org/10.4039/Ent40460a-12

Cresson ET (1878) Descriptions of new North American Hymenoptera in the collection of the American Entomological Society. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 7: 61-136.

Mitchell TB (1937) A revision of the genus Megachile in the Nearctic region. Part VII. Taxonomy of the subgenus Sayapis (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society 63(2): 175-206.https://www.jstor.org/stable/25077393

Hurd PD (1979) Superfamily Apoidea. In: Krombein KV, Hurd Jr PD, Smith DR, Burks BD (Eds) Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 2735 pp.

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

Cresson ET (1916) The Cresson types of Hymenoptera. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 1: 1-141.

Cockerell TDA (1908) Descriptions and records of bees.—XVIII. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 8 1(3): 259-267. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930808692398

Michener CD (1951) Family Megachilidae. 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. 1136-1186.

Buckell ER (1950) Record of bees from British Columbia: Megachilidae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia 46: 21-31.

Sheffield CS, Ratti C, Packer L, Griswold T (2011) Leafcutter and mason bees of the genus Megachile Latreille (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Canada and Alaska. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification 18: 1-107. https://doi.org/10.3752/cjai.2011.18

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

Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available

Distribution: British Columbia
Ecozone: Western Interior Basin