Megachile #40; Digitella #41;

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Megachilini
Genus: Megachile Latreille, 1802
Subgenus: Digitella Pasteels, 1965
Common name: none

Overview

Megachile (Digitella) includes a single, parallel-sided species with black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
on the head, thorax, and abdomen and red integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
on the legs and tegulategula:
the usually oval, small shield-like structure carried at the extreme base of the wing where it attaches to the body
(Cockerell 1937Cockerell 1937:
Cockerell, T.D.A. 1937. African bees of the genera Ceratina , Halictus and Megachile . The Trustees of the British Museum: 1-254.). They have pale yellow and white hair on their head, and a mixture of black and white hair and pale apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
hair bandsbands:
usually referring to bands of hair or bands of color that traverse across an abdominal segment
on the 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
(Cockerell 1937Cockerell 1937:
Cockerell, T.D.A. 1937. African bees of the genera Ceratina , Halictus and Megachile . The Trustees of the British Museum: 1-254.). They range in body length from 10–12 mm (Cockerell 1937Cockerell 1937:
Cockerell, T.D.A. 1937. African bees of the genera Ceratina , Halictus and Megachile . The Trustees of the British Museum: 1-254.; Pasteels 1965Pasteels 1965:
Pasteels, J.J. 1965. Revision des Megachilidae (Hymenoptera Apoidea) de lrsquo;Afrique Noire, 1. Les Genres Creightoniella [sic], Chalicodoma et Megachile (s. str.). Annales Musee Royal de lrsquo;Afrique Central [Tervuren], Sciences Zoologiques 8: 137 -579 pp.).

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Cockerell 1937Cockerell 1937:
Cockerell, T.D.A. 1937. African bees of the genera Ceratina , Halictus and Megachile . The Trustees of the British Museum: 1-254.; Pasteels 1965Pasteels 1965:
Pasteels, J.J. 1965. Revision des Megachilidae (Hymenoptera Apoidea) de lrsquo;Afrique Noire, 1. Les Genres Creightoniella [sic], Chalicodoma et Megachile (s. str.). Annales Musee Royal de lrsquo;Afrique Central [Tervuren], Sciences Zoologiques 8: 137 -579 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.)

Preoccipital carinacarina:
a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
absent.
Female mandibles four-toothed with cutting edge absent in the second interspace and a small cutting edge in the third interspace.
Female clypeusclypeus:
a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
with laterallateral:
relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
teeth or tubercles and a small median tooth or tubercletubercle:
a small knob-like or rounded protuberance
.
Female T2T2:
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
without round foveafovea:
a depressed region of cuticle; in bees this depressed area is usually only very slightly hollow and usually on the face.
laterally.
Female 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
with white apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
bands of hair 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 supraclypeal areasupraclypeal area:
the region of the head between the antennal sockets and clypeus, demarcated on the sides by the subantennal sutures
highly polished.
Male front tarsitarsi:
the group of segments at the end of the leg following the tibia
expanded.
Male front coxacoxa:
the basal segment of the leg
with long spine.
Male mandiblemandible:
bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
three-toothed with a basalbasal:
originating at the foundation of a structure
tooth on the lower margin that curves backwards.
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
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
denticulate laterally and bilobed medially.
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 small laterallateral:
relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
spines and no sublateral spines.

May be confused with

Megachile (Digitella) is most similar to Megachile (Eurymella) in the mandibularmandibular:
near the mandible
teeth of both sexes, and the females with white apicalapical:
near or at the apex or end of any structure
hair bandsbands:
usually referring to bands of hair or bands of color that traverse across an abdominal segment
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 M. (Digitella) can be distinguished by their clypeusclypeus:
a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
, which has laterallateral:
relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
teeth or tubercles and a small median tooth or tubercletubercle:
a small knob-like or rounded protuberance
. Male M. (Digitella) can be differentiated by the shape of the basalbasal:
originating at the foundation of a structure
projection on the lower margin of the mandiblemandible:
bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
, which curves backwards, and the medially bilobed 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
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
.

Host associations

Floral associations are unknown.

Nesting behavior

Nesting behavior is unknown.

Diversity

Megachile (Digitella) includes a single species, Megachile digiticauda (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.).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Distribution

Megachile (Digitella) are uncommon, but have been reported from Africa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe (Cockerell 1937Cockerell 1937:
Cockerell, T.D.A. 1937. African bees of the genera Ceratina , Halictus and Megachile . The Trustees of the British Museum: 1-254.; 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.).

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

References

Cockerell, T.D.A. 1937. African bees of the genera Ceratina, Halictus and Megachile. The Trustees of the British Museum: 1-254.

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.

Pasteels, J.J. 1965. Revision des Megachilidae (Hymenoptera Apoidea) de l’Afrique Noire, 1. Les Genres Creightoniella [sic], Chalicodoma et Megachile (s. str.). Annales Musee Royal de l’Afrique Central [Tervuren], Sciences Zoologiques 8: 137 -579.

Megachile (Digitella)