Hackeriapis

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Megachilini
Genus: Hackeriapis Cockerell, 1922
Common name: none

Overview

Hackeriapis are bees with black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
on their head and thorax and often reddish integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
on some tergaterga:
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
. They have white, gray, black, red, or orange hairs throughout their bodies, although red and orange hairs are common on their abdomens (King 1994King 1994:
King, J. 1994. The bee family Megachilidae (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in Australia. I. Morphology of the genus Chalicodoma Lepeletier, and a revision of the subgenus Hackeriapis Cockerell. Invertebrate Taxonomy 8: 1373-1419.; 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 a morphologically diverse genus and range in body length from 5–18 mm (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). These bees were formerly considered a subgenus of Megachile, but was raised to genus status by Gonzalez et al. (2019).

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from King 1994King 1994:
King, J. 1994. The bee family Megachilidae (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in Australia. I. Morphology of the genus Chalicodoma Lepeletier, and a revision of the subgenus Hackeriapis Cockerell. Invertebrate Taxonomy 8: 1373-1419.; 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.; 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.)

• T2–T3 often have strong, deep, transverse postgradular grooves.
• Tarsal claws with strong basalbasal:
  originating at the foundation of a structure
  teeth.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  is three- to five-toothed with shiny mandibularmandibular:
  near the mandible
  ridges.
• Female without apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  sternal hairbands beneath the 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
  .
• Female S1S1:
  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
  without a medial projection.
• Male mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  is two- or three-toothed.
• Male S4S4:
  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
  is usually retracted; if visible, it is less sclerotizedsclerotized:
  hardened by the formation of sclerotin, specifically the exoskeleton of an insect
  , less hairy, and less punctatepunctate:
  studded with tiny holes
  than the other sternasterna:
  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
  .
• Male forelegsforelegs:
  usually refers to the first pair of legs, the ones closest to the head
  and mid-tarsus are simple.
• Male T2–T4 with impunctateimpunctate:
  marked with punctures or pits
  , hyalinehyaline:
  transparent, glassy
  , apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  margin.
• 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 with four teeth.
• Male gonocoxites are shorter than the penis valve.

May be confused with

Hackeriapis may be confused with Rozenapis as they have a similar appearance and share the characteristic of reddish terminal tergaterga:
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
(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.). However, Hackeriapis females lack the large conspicuous spine on S1S1:
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
that is found on Rozenapis females. Further, male Hackeriapis have a basalbasal:
originating at the foundation of a structure
tooth on their tarsal claws which is absent in Rozenapis (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.).

Host associations

Hackeriapis have been observed visiting flowers of the plant families Apocynaceae, Goodeniaceae, Fabaceae, Flacourtiaceae, Liliaceae, Myoporaceae, Myrtaceae, Papilionaceae, and Violaceae (King 1994King 1994:
King, J. 1994. The bee family Megachilidae (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in Australia. I. Morphology of the genus Chalicodoma Lepeletier, and a revision of the subgenus Hackeriapis Cockerell. Invertebrate Taxonomy 8: 1373-1419.; Donovan et al. 2013Donovan et al. 2013:
Donovan, B., J. Munzinger, A. Pauly, and G. McPherson. 2013. Flower-visiting records of the native bees of New Caledonia. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 99(1): 19-43.).

Nesting behavior

Hackeriapis have been observed using a number of pre-existing cavities for nesting, including abandoned nests of potter wasps, Eucalyptus seed pods, and man-made objects such as outdoor table umbrellas or folded newspapers (Houston 2018Houston 2018:
Houston, T.F. 2018. A guide to the native bees of Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton Australia, 280 pp.). These bees use resin, masticated plant matter, and downy plant fibers to construct their nests (Houston 2018Houston 2018:
Houston, T.F. 2018. A guide to the native bees of Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton Australia, 280 pp.). One species, H. aurifrons, has been recorded building their cell partitions out of pollen provisions (Houston 2018Houston 2018:
Houston, T.F. 2018. A guide to the native bees of Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton Australia, 280 pp.). Some species are known to nest in aggregations, where several females build nests in the same crevice (Houston 2018Houston 2018:
Houston, T.F. 2018. A guide to the native bees of Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton Australia, 280 pp.).

Diversity

Hackeriapis consists of 77 species (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; 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.); none are known to occur in the U.S. or Canada.

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Distribution

Hackeriapis occur in New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Australia, including on the island of Tasmania (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; Donovan et al. 2013Donovan et al. 2013:
Donovan, B., J. Munzinger, A. Pauly, and G. McPherson. 2013. Flower-visiting records of the native bees of New Caledonia. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 99(1): 19-43.). In New Guinea, they are found within the savanna (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

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

References

Donovan, B., J. Munzinger, A. Pauly, and G. McPherson. 2013. Flower-visiting records of the native bees of New Caledonia. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 99(1): 19-43.

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.

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.

Houston, T.F. 2018. A guide to the native bees of Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton Australia, 280 pp.

King, J. 1994. The bee family Megachilidae (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in Australia. I. Morphology of the genus Chalicodoma Lepeletier, and a revision of the subgenus Hackeriapis Cockerell. Invertebrate Taxonomy 8: 1373-1419.

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