Megachile snowi Mitchell, 1927
Properties
Scientific Name: Megachile snowi Mitchell, 1927
Common Name: Snow\'s Leafcutter Bee
Taxonomy
Megachile mendica snowi Mitchell, 1927. Psyche 34: 113 [♀].
Holotype ♀. USA, Arizona, Oak Creek Canyon, 6000 ft., Aug [no year provided], by F.R. Snow [MCZ no. 15719].
Taxonomic notes: The ♂ was described by Mitchell (1935: 31).
Mitchell (1935: 31) indicated that at least some of the ♂s of the syntype series included for M. cleomis Cockerell, 1900 by Cockerell (1900: 13) for M. cleomis Cockerell, 1900 were incorrectly associated with that taxon, and felt that the ♀ of M. cleomis represented a variety of M. texana Cresson, 1878 (i.e., M. generosa Cresson, 1878) that he then recognized as M. texana cleomis.
Mitchell (1935: 31) continued to treat this taxon as a subspecies of M. mendica Cresson, 1878, though Michener (1951: 1171) considered it a full species; Mitchell (1962: 117) and Hurd (1979: 2054) reinstated it as a subspecies of M. mendica; Sheffield et al. (2011: 39) treated it as a synonym of M. mendica, but later showed (i.e., Sheffield and Genaro 2013: 14) that it had 1.19% sequence divergence in the COI gene from M. mendica, supporting the earlier opinions of Michener (1951) and Bzdyk (2012: 55), the latter distinguishing the ♀ of the two taxa by its pale (versus brown) pubesence on tergum 6, and the ♂ by having a complete pale apical fasciae on tergum 5, which is lacking in M. mendica.
DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:ACE7015
Distribution in Canada: Sheffield and Heron 2019 [BC]; BOLD [BC].
The listing of M. mendica from BC by Sheffield et al. (2011: 41) was based on M. snowi.
References
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 (1935) A revision of the genus Megachile in the Nearctic region. Part II. Morphology of the male sternites and genital armature and the taxonomy of the subgenera Litomegachile, Neomegachile and Cressoniella. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 61(1): 1-44.https://www.jstor.org/stable/25077331
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.
Mitchell TB (1962) Bees of the Eastern United States. Volume 2. North Carolina Agricultural Experimental Station Technical Bulletin 152, Raleigh, 557 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
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.
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
Bzdyk EL (2012) A revision of the Megachile subgenus Litomegachile Mitchell with an illustrated key and description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae, Megachilini). ZooKeys 221: 31-61. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.221.3234
Sheffield CS, Genaro JA (2013) A new species of Megachile (Litomegachile) from Cuba, the Antilles (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Journal of Melittology 19: 1-17.https://doi.org/10.17161/jom.v0i19.4564
Sociality: Solitary
Nesting: Cavity Renter, Ground
Pollen Specialization: Polylectic
Wintering Stage: Mature Larva
Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available
Distribution: British Columbia
Ecozone: Western Interior Basin