Hoplostelis

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Anthidiini
Genus: Hoplostelis Dominique, 1898
Subgenera: Hoplostelis, Rhynostelis
Common name: none

Overview

Hoplostelis are robust parasitic bees that lack scopae (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). They range in body length from 8–14 mm, they have black or dark brown integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
with yellow abdominal bandsbands:
usually referring to bands of hair or bands of color that traverse across an abdominal segment
and patterning on the head and thorax that may be red or orange in some species. The markings in some species can be extensive, making them primarily yellow (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Diversity

Hoplostelis contains 6 species in 2 subgenera worldwide (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.); none are known to occur in the U.S. or Canada.

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp. unless otherwise stated)

• Arolia present.
• Juxtantennal carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  present.
• Middle tibiatibia:
  the segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
  with one apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  spine.
• Pronotal lobes carinatecarinate:
  having keels or carinae
  or lamellatelamellate:
  thin, plate-like, often somewhat translucent structure
  .
• Propodeum propodeum:
  the last segment of the thorax
  with foveafovea:
  a depressed region of cuticle; in bees this depressed area is usually only very slightly hollow and usually on the face.
  behind spiraclespiracle:
  a breathing pore, usually occurring on the third thorasic segment
  (Urban and Parizotto 2012Urban and Parizotto 2012:
  Urban, D. and D.R. Parizotto. 2012. A revised key to the Neotropical cleptoparasitic anthidiine genera (Hymenoptera, Megachilinae) with notes and descriptions of the male of Rhynostelis Moure amp; Urban. Zookeys 249: 27ndash;35.).
• T1 with distinct carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  where anterioranterior:
  toward the head or on the head side of a segment being described
  and dorsaldorsal:
  in general, the upper surface
  surfaces meet (only in subgenus Hoplostelis).
• Female scopascopa:
  modified hairs for carrying pollen; often branched and dense hairs on the hind-leg, or on the ventral surface of the abdomen in Megachilidae
  absent.
• Female clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  with an apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  tubercle or two apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  processes.
• Female with strong protuberanceprotuberance:
  rising or produced above the surface or the general level of a feature
  near anterioranterior:
  toward the head or on the head side of a segment being described
  articulation of mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  .
• Male S5S5:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  and S6S6:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  with laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  teeth present.
• Male T7T7:
  the segments on the top side of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, or T7
  small, simple, or slightly bilobed.

May be confused with

Hoplostelis most closely resembles Austrostelis because both genera are cleptoparasiticcleptoparasitic:
bees that lay their eggs in the nest cells of bees in other genera. Their larvae depend on the pollen provided by their host. Since cleptoparasitic bees don't provision their own nests, and instead depend on the pollen collected by their host, the females lack pollen collecting hairs. This often gives them a wasp-like appearance.
and possess one protibial and mesotibial apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
spine (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). Austrostelis females can be differentiated by the lack of a distinct protuberanceprotuberance:
rising or produced above the surface or the general level of a feature
at the base of the mandiblemandible:
bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
(Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Host associations

Hoplostelis females are cleptoparasitic:

and do not gather pollen, but are presumed to use nectar from a variety of flowers (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). Hoplostelis parasitize Euglossini (Apidae) (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). Hoplostelis multiplicata, the only species of the Rhynostelis subgenus, parasitizes Eufriesea (Moure and Urban 1994Moure and Urban 1994:
Moure, J.S. and D. Urban. 1994. Rhynostelis , gen. n. and taxonomic notes on Hoplostelis Dominique (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Megachilidae). Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 11: 297-302.; Urban and Parizotto 2012Urban and Parizotto 2012:
Urban, D. and D.R. Parizotto. 2012. A revised key to the Neotropical cleptoparasitic anthidiine genera (Hymenoptera, Megachilinae) with notes and descriptions of the male of Rhynostelis Moure amp; Urban. Zookeys 249: 27-35.). Hoplostelis cordata is known to parasitize Euglossa cordata and E. variabilis (Bennett 1966Bennett 1966:
Bennett, F.D. 1966. Notes on the biology of Stelis ( Odontostelis ) bilineolata (Spinola), a parasite of Euglossa cordata (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 74: 72-79.; Augusto and Garófalo 1998).

Nesting behavior

Female Hoplostelis are cleptoparasitic:

. Hoplostelis bilineolata parasitizes Euglossa spp., which may be communal or primitively eusocial. The presence of multiple host females in Euglossa cordata nests does not seem to be a deterrent to H. bilineolata parasitism; the hosts do not attempt to guard the cells (Rozen 1966Rozen 1966:
Rozen, J.G. 1966. Taxonomic descriptions of the immature stages of the parasitic bee, Stelis ( Odontostelis ) bilineolata (Spinola) (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 74: 85-91.; Augusto and Garófalo 1998). However, in E. viridissima, communal nests show lower rates of H. bivittata parasitism (Cocom Pech et al. 2008Cocom Pech et al. 2008:
Cocom Pech, M.E., W.J. May-Itzaacute;, L.A. Medina, and J.J.G. Quezada-Euaacute;n. 2008. Sociality in Euglossa ( Euglossa ) viridissima Friese (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossini). Insectes Sociaux 55: 428-433.). Once a host nest is found, the female parasite chases off the host female(s) through aggressive hazing and biting. This can potentially lead to the host’s death. After the host female has been eradicated, the Hoplostelis female uses resin from around the nest to seal herself inside (Cocom Pech et al. 2008Cocom Pech et al. 2008:
Cocom Pech, M.E., W.J. May-Itzaacute;, L.A. Medina, and J.J.G. Quezada-Euaacute;n. 2008. Sociality in Euglossa ( Euglossa ) viridissima Friese (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossini). Insectes Sociaux 55: 428-433.). The Euglossa young within their pot-shaped cells are destroyed one at a time. Eggs are either eaten or removed from the resin-based cells once opened by Hoplostelis; larvaelarva:
active immature form of an insect, especially one that differs greatly from the adult and forms the stage between egg and pupa
are also removed from opened cells, stung, bit, and killed, sometimes being coated over with resin afterwards (Bennett 1966Bennett 1966:
Bennett, F.D. 1966. Notes on the biology of Stelis ( Odontostelis ) bilineolata (Spinola), a parasite of Euglossa cordata (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 74: 72-79.). If these cells are adequate for parasitism, an egg is placed in the cell, and it is resealed (Bennett 1966Bennett 1966:
Bennett, F.D. 1966. Notes on the biology of Stelis ( Odontostelis ) bilineolata (Spinola), a parasite of Euglossa cordata (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 74: 72-79.). If a cell containing an unemerged adult is found, the cell is crushed with the mandibles dispatching the host inside (Bennett 1966Bennett 1966:
Bennett, F.D. 1966. Notes on the biology of Stelis ( Odontostelis ) bilineolata (Spinola), a parasite of Euglossa cordata (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 74: 72-79.). When the Hoplostelis female leaves the nest, it seals the nest with resin until returning to continue killing host cells and parasitizing the suitable ones (Bennett 1966Bennett 1966:
Bennett, F.D. 1966. Notes on the biology of Stelis ( Odontostelis ) bilineolata (Spinola), a parasite of Euglossa cordata (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 74: 72-79.). If parasitism is interrupted and host females return to the nest, Hoplostelis eggs or larvaelarva:
active immature form of an insect, especially one that differs greatly from the adult and forms the stage between egg and pupa
will be killed by the Euglossa female upon detection.

Distribution

Hoplostelis is restricted to neotropicalNeotropical:
biogeographic region that includes South and Central America, the Caribbean Islands, southern Florida, and the southern Mexican lowlands
Central and South America. The subgenus Hoplostelis ranges from Jalisco, Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula south to Bolivia and Santa Catarina, Brazil (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). They are also represented in Trinidad (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). The subgenus Rhynostelis occurs in Amazonas, Brazil (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

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References

Augusto, S.C. and C.A. Garófalo. 1998. Behavioral aspects of Hoplostelis bilineolata (Spinola) (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), a cleptoparasitecleptoparasite:
bees that lay their eggs in the nest cells of bees in other genera. Their larvae depend on the pollen provided by their host. Since cleptoparasitic bees don't provision their own nests, and instead depend on the pollen collected by their host, the females lack pollen collecting hairs. This often gives them a wasp-like appearance.
of Euglossa cordata (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera, Apidae), and the behavior of hosts in parasitized nests. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 41:507-515.

Bennett, F.D. 1966. Notes on the biology of Stelis (Odontostelis) bilineolata (Spinola), a parasite of Euglossa cordata (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 74:72-79.

Cocom Pech, M.E., W.J. May-Itzá, L.A. Medina, and J.J.G. Quezada-Euán. 2008. Sociality in Euglossa (Euglossa) viridissima Friese (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossini). Insectes Sociaux 55:428-433.

Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.

Moure, J.S. and D. Urban. 1994. Rhynostelis, gen. n. and taxonomic notes on Hoplostelis Dominique (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Megachilidae). Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 11:297-302.

Rozen, J.G. 1966. Taxonomic descriptions of the immature stages of the parasitic bee, Stelis (Odontostelis) bilineolata (Spinola) (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 74:85-91.

Urban, D. and D.R. Parizotto. 2012. A revised key to the NeotropicalNeotropical:
biogeographic region that includes South and Central America, the Caribbean Islands, southern Florida, and the southern Mexican lowlands
cleptoparasitic:

Anthidiine genera (Hymenoptera, Megachilinae) with notes and descriptions of the male of Rhynostelis Moure & Urban. Zookeys 249:27-35.