Carinula

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Megachilini
Genus: Carinula Michener, 1994
Common name: none

Overview

Carinula are brightly colored, elongate bees that range in length from 7–11 mm (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; Eardley 2012Eardley 2012:
Eardley C.A. 2012. Taxonomic revision of the southern African species of dauber bees in the genus Megachile Latreille (Apoidea: Megachilidae). Zootaxa: 3460(1): 1-65.). They were previously synonymized within Megachile (Callomegachile) (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). Carinula was established as a genus by Gonzalez et al. 2019Gonzalez et al. 2019:
Gonzalez, V.H., G.T. Gustafson, and M.S. Engel. 2019. Morphological phylogeny of Megachilini and the evolution of leaf-cutter behavior in bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Journal of Melittology (85): 1-123..

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.)

• Preoccipital carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  well developed laterally.
• Female clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  with a longitudinal median.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  without cutting edges in the interspaces.
• Male fore coxacoxa:
  the basal segment of the leg
  without spine.
• Male gonoforcepsgonoforceps:
  the unsegmented apical-most appendage of the external male genitalia
  broadened in the apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  half.
• Male T6T6:
  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
  with preapicalpreapical:
  referring to a section of a bee that is physically found just before the outermost (or apical) end of the section or segment
  carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  usually short and weakly bilobed or entire.
• Male T6T6:
  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
  apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  margin without laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  teeth.

May be confused with

Carinula may be confused with bees within Callomegachile, as they were both previously combined under Megachile (Callomegachile), and they share a number of features including the shape of T6T6:
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
in males and mandiblemandible:
bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
features in females (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; Gonzalez 2008Gonzalez 2008:
Gonzalez, V.H. 2008. Phylogeny and classification of the bee tribe Megachilini (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae), with emphasis on the genus Megachile. Thesis: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the College of Liberal Arts and Science of the University of Kansas: 1-274.). Male Carinula can be differentiated from Callomegachile by the lack of a spine on the front coxacoxa:
the basal segment of the leg
. Female Carinula have a complete longitudinal carinacarina:
a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
medially on the clypeusclypeus:
a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
and shinier mandibularmandibular:
near the mandible
ridges than Callomegachile (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Host associations

Carinula are known to visit flowers of plants in the families Acanthaceae, Asteraceae, Hypericaceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae, Muntingiaceae, Papilionaceae, Rubiaceae, Rhizophoraceae, Solanaceae, and Sterculiaceae (Gikungu 2006Gikungu 2006:
Gikungu, M.W. 2006. Bee diversity and some aspects of their ecological interactions with plants in a successional tropical community. Apidologie 40(3): 355-366.; Ascher et al. 2016aAscher et al. 2016a:
Ascher, J.S., S. Risch, Z.W. Soh, J.X. Lee, and E.J. Soh. 2016. Megachile leaf-cutter and resin bees of Singapore (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 2016(32): 33-55.; Venceslas et al. 2020Venceslas et al. 2020:
Venceslas, Z.G., M. Sanda, and T.F. Fernand-Nestor. 2020. Pollination efficiency of Dactylurina staudingeri (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on Psorospermum febrifugum (Hypericaceae) at Dang (Ngaoundeacute;reacute;, Cameroon). Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 8(1): 216-224.).

Nesting behavior

Carinula are dauber bees, which are bees that use mud and sometimes resin to construct their nests (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; Eardley 2012Eardley 2012:
Eardley C.A. 2012. Taxonomic revision of the southern African species of dauber bees in the genus Megachile Latreille (Apoidea: Megachilidae). Zootaxa: 3460(1): 1-65.).

Diversity

Carinula consists of eight species (Ascher and Pickering 2020Ascher and Pickering 2020:
Ascher, J.S. and J. Pickering. 2020. Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=Carinulaamp;name=Megachileamp;flags=subgenus :); none are known to occur in the U.S. or Canada.

Known invasives

Carinula torrida was introduced from Africa to the Caribbean and is now found in Cuba, Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic, and Montserrat (Genaro 1996Genaro 1996:
Genaro, J.A. 1996. Key to the genus Megachile, Chalicodoma group (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Cuba. Revista de Biologia Tropical 44: 193-198.; Raw 2007Raw 2007:
Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile ) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127.; Genaro 2008Genaro 2008:
Genaro, J.A. 2008. Origins, composition and distribution of the bees of Cuba (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). Insecta Mundi (0051-0061): 1-16.). These bees were likely introduced during the slave trade between 1511 and 1867 (Genaro 2008Genaro 2008:
Genaro, J.A. 2008. Origins, composition and distribution of the bees of Cuba (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). Insecta Mundi (0051-0061): 1-16.).

Distribution

Carinula are known to occur in Africa, Asia, and in limited parts of North America, specifically the Caribbean. In Africa, they are found in Ghana, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, South Africa, and Kenya (Genaro 1996Genaro 1996:
Genaro, J.A. 1996. Key to the genus Megachile, Chalicodoma group (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Cuba. Revista de Biologia Tropical 44: 193-198.; Gikungu 2006Gikungu 2006:
Gikungu, M.W. 2006. Bee diversity and some aspects of their ecological interactions with plants in a successional tropical community. Apidologie 40(3): 355-366.; Raw 2007Raw 2007:
Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile ) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127., Eardley 2012Eardley 2012:
Eardley C.A. 2012. Taxonomic revision of the southern African species of dauber bees in the genus Megachile Latreille (Apoidea: Megachilidae). Zootaxa: 3460(1): 1-65.). They are also found in Southeast Asia, and have been recorded in India, Malaysia, and Singapore (Ascher et al. 2016aAscher et al. 2016a:
Ascher, J.S., S. Risch, Z.W. Soh, J.X. Lee, and E.J. Soh. 2016. Megachile leaf-cutter and resin bees of Singapore (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 2016(32): 33-55.). One species, Carinula torrida, was introduced into the Caribbean and is now found in Cuba, Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic, and Montserrat (Genaro 1996Genaro 1996:
Genaro, J.A. 1996. Key to the genus Megachile, Chalicodoma group (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Cuba. Revista de Biologia Tropical 44: 193-198.; Raw 2007Raw 2007:
Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile ) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127.).

​Distribution map generated by Discover Life -- click on map for details, credits, and terms of use.

References

Ascher, J.S., S. Risch, Z.W. Soh, J.X. Lee, and E.J. Soh. 2016. Megachile leaf-cutter and resin bees of Singapore (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 2016(32): 33-55.

Ascher, J.S. and J. Pickering. 2020. Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=Carinula&name=Megachile&flags=subgenus:

Eardley C.A. 2012. Taxonomic revision of the southern African species of dauber bees in the genus Megachile Latreille (Apoidea: Megachilidae). Zootaxa: 3460(1): 1-65.

Genaro, J.A. 1996. Key to the genus Megachile, Chalicodoma group (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Cuba. Revista de Biologia Tropical 44: 193-198. 

Genaro, J.A. 2008. Origins, composition and distribution of the bees of Cuba (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). Insecta Mundi 0052: 1-16.

Gikungu, M.W. 2006. Bee diversity and some aspects of their ecological interactions with plants in a successional tropical community. Apidologie 40(3): 355-366.

Gonzalez, V.H., G.T. Gustafson, and M.S. Engel. 2019. Morphological phylogeny of Megachilini and the evolution of leaf-cutter behavior in bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Journal of Melittology (85): 1-123.

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

Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 160: 1-127.

Trunz, V., L. Packer, J. Vieu, N. Arrigo, and C.J. Praz. 2016. Comprehensive phylogeny, biogeography, and new classification of the diverse bee tribe Megachilini: Can we use DNA barcodes in phylogenies of large genera? Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 103: 245-259.

Venceslas, Z.G., M. Sanda, and T.F. Fernand-Nestor. 2020. Pollination efficiency of Dactylurina staudingeri (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on Psorospermum febrifugum (Hypericaceae) at Dang (Ngaoundéré, Cameroon). Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 8(1): 216-224.