Megachile (Stellenigris)

Taxonomy

Family: Megachilidae
Subfamily: Megachilinae
Tribe: Megachilini
Genus: Megachile Latreille, 1802
Subgenus: Stellenigris Titus, 1906
Common name: none

Overview

Megachile (Stellenigris) are large bees with red or grey pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
on the thorax and red hair on the abdomen (Meunier 1888Meunier 1888:
Meunier, M.F. 1888. Megachillidae. Naturalista Siciliano: Organo della Societagrave; Siciliana di Scienze Naturali 7: 152). It was described from a single female specimen and the type specimen was likely destroyed (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 Meunier 1888Meunier 1888:
Meunier, M.F. 1888. Megachillidae. Naturalista Siciliano: Organo della Societagrave; Siciliana di Scienze Naturali 7: 152)

• Clypeus clypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  weakly punctatepunctate:
  studded with tiny holes
  with a sinuatesinuate:
  margin wavy or with multiple strong indentations
  line in the middle.
• Mandibles are bidentatebidentate:
  having two teeth
  .
• Wings are gray with a darkened margin.

May be confused with

Since the type specimen for Megachile (Stellenigris) has been lost, it has not been compared to many of the currently recognized Megachile subgenera. The bidentatebidentate:
having two teeth
mandible, however, is unusual for a Megachile female; the only other subgenus with bidentatebidentate:
having two teeth
mandibles in the females is Megachile (Thaumatosoma).

Host associations

Floral associations are unknown.

Nesting behavior

Nesting behavior is unknown.

Diversity

Megachile (Stellenigris) consists of one species: M. vandeveldii (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.).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Distribution

The single specimen from Megachile (Stellenigris) was found in central Africa (Meunier 1888Meunier 1888:
Meunier, M.F. 1888. Megachillidae. Naturalista Siciliano: Organo della Societagrave; Siciliana di Scienze Naturali 7: 152).

​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.

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.

Meunier, M.F. 1888. Megachillidae. Naturalista Siciliano: Organo della Società Siciliana di Scienze Naturali 7: 152