Megachile (Chalicodomoides)

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Megachilini
Genus: Megachile Latreille, 1802
Subgenus: Chalicodomoides Michener, 1962
Common name: none

Overview

Megachile (Chalicodomoides) are robust bees with black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
and mostly black hair (King and Exley 1985King and Exley 1985:
King, J. and E.M. Exley. 1985. A revision of Chalicodoma (Chalicodomoides) Michener (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 24: 187-204; 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.). They range in body length from 13–18 mm (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

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.; 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.)

• Preoccipital ridge preoccipital ridge:
  the carina that dorsolaterally surrounds the back of the head
  carinatecarinate:
  having keels or carinae
  laterally.
• Female clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  with apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  edge produced and emarginateemarginate:
  a notched or cut out place in an edge or margin, can be dramatic or simply a subtle inward departure from the general curve or line of the margin or structure being described
  medially.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  is shiny, slender, and three-toothed, the distance between first and second tooth longer than half the width of the mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  .
• Female with a sharp tooth on the hypostomalhypostomal:
  the notched region underneath the head and behind the mandible that holds the folded tongue
  area just behind the base of the mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  .
• Male 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
  apexapex:
  end of any structure
  is produced to a broad, nearly hairless, median sub-erect flap.
• 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
  carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  is weakly bilobed.

May be confused with

Megachile (Chalicodomoides) may be confused with bees within the subgenus Chalicodoma as both have slender mandibles with oblique apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
margins (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). Females can be differentiated from Chalicodoma by the three-toothed mandiblemandible:
bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
and clypeusclypeus:
a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
shape, and males by the unique sub-erect flap 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
(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

Megachile (Chalicodomoides) has been observed visiting Myrtaceae (King and Exley 1985a).

Nesting behavior

Megachile (Chalicodomoides), specifically Megachile aethiops, have been observed reusing the old nests of potter wasps (Abispa sp.) and mud dauber wasps (Sceliphron sp.), and then completely covering the nests with resin (Houston 2018Houston 2018:
Houston, T.F. 2018. A guide to the native bees of Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton Australia, 280 pp.; Matthews and Matthews 2009Matthews and Matthews 2009:
Matthews, R.W. and J.R. Matthews. 2009. Nesting behavior of Abispa ephippium (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae): extended parental care in an Australian mason wasp. Psyche: A Journal of Entomology, 2009.).

Diversity

Megachile (Chalicodomoides) consists of two species: M. aethiops and M. doddiana, (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.

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Distribution

Megachile (Chalicodomoides) is an Australian subgenus, and has been recorded across northern Australia from Queensland to the state of Western Australia (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

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.

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

King, J. and E.M. Exley. 1985. A revision of Chalicodoma (Chalicodomoides) Michener (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 24: 187-191.

Matthews, R.W. and J.R. Matthews. 2009. Nesting behavior of Abispa ephippium (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae): extended parental care in an Australian mason wasp. Psyche: A Journal of Entomology, 2009.

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