Stelis louisae Cockerell, 1911

Stelis louisae Cockerell, 1911: 247 [♂].

     Holotype ♂. USA, Louisiana, Mound, 12 May 1905, by C.R. Jones [USNM no. 13533].

Stelis floridana Graenicher, 1928: 282 [♀, ♂]. Synonymy by Parker and Bohart (1979: 146).

     Holotype ♀. USA, Florida, Dade County, Homestead, 23 miles southwest of Miami, 21 July 1916 [???].

Taxonomic notes: Mitchell (1962: 37) considered S. louisae Cockerell, 1911 a synonym of S. costalis costalis Cresson, 1872, and S. floridana Graenicher a subspecies of S. costalis (Mitchell 1962: 38).

Distribution in Canada: Paiero and Buck 2004 [ON]; Paiero et al. 2010 [ON].

Biology: Parker and Bohart (1979) indicate that this is a probably nest parasite of Megachile (Chelostomoides); M. (Chelostomoides) campanulae is one likely host, as it is the only Chelostomoides occurring in Ontario Canada (Sheffield et al. 2011), where S, louisae also occurs (Paiero and Buck 2004; Paiero et al. 2010). It is possible that S. louisae occurs in Canada from SK-QC, as the likely host has now been confirmed in these provinces. Parker et al. (1987) also recordsed Megachile angelarum as a host, a species which occurs in BC.

Cockerell TDA (1911) LXXXIX.—Descriptions and records of bees.—XL. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 8 8(48): 763-770. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222931108693096

Graenicher S (1928) New bees from the Miami region of Florida (Hymen.: Andrenidae, Megachilidae). Entomological News 39 or 40: 279-284.

Parker FD, Bohart GE (1979) Dolichostelis, a new genus of parasitic bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 52(1): 138-153: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25083888