Megachile (Trichurochile)

Taxonomy

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

Overview

Megachile (Trichurochile) have black or red integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
and pale white to yellow-gold hair on their body. They range in body length from 10–12 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.)

• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  is four-toothed with the innermost tooth incised, sometimes giving it the appearance of having five teeth.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  second interspace with a distinct but incomplete cutting edge.
• 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
  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
  .
• Male mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  is three-toothed.
• 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
  is 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
  with a fringe of long, plumoseplumose:
  feather-like
  hairs that fill the emarginationemargination:
  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
  .

May be confused with

Female Megachile (Trichurochile) may be confused with bees within the subgenus Megachile (Austromegachile) due to both groups having 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
under the sternal 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
(Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). Female Megachile (Trichurochile) have complete 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
, whereas Megachile (Austromegachile) have broken bandsbands:
usually referring to bands of hair or bands of color that traverse across an abdominal segment
. Male Megachile (Trichurochile) can be differentiated from other Megachile subgenera by the hair-filled emarginationemargination:
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
of the 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
(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 (Trichurochile) have been observed collecting pollen from Asteraceae, Begoniaceae, Lamiaceae, Melastomataceae, Solanaceae, and Styracaceae (Harter et al. 2002Harter et al. 2002:
Harter, B., C. Leistikow, W. Wilms, B. Truylio, and W. Engels. 2002. Bees collecting pollen from flowers with poricidal anthers in a south Brazilian Araucaria forest: a community study. Journal of Apicultural Research 41(1-2): 9-16.; Raw 2007Raw 2007:
Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile ) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127.; Mouga et al. 2012Mouga et al. 2012:
Mouga, D.M.D.S., C.F. Noble, D.B.G. Bussmann, and C. Krug. 2012. Bees and plants in a transition area between Atlantic rain forest and araucaria forest in southern Brazil. Revue d#39;eacute;cologie 67: 313-327.).

Nesting behavior

Megachile (Trichurochile) have been observed lining their nests with cut leaves (Raw 2007Raw 2007:
Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile ) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127.).

Diversity

Megachile (Trichurochile) consists of five species; none are known to occur in the U.S. or Canada (Raw 2007Raw 2007:
Raw, A. 2007. An annotated catalogue of the leafcutter and mason bees (genus Megachile ) of the Neotropics. Zootaxa 1601: 1-127.).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

Distribution

Megachile (Trichurochile) are found in South America where they have been collected in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, and northern Argentina (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; 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

Mouga, D.M.D.S., C.F. Noble, D.B.G. Bussmann, and C. Krug. 2012. Bees and plants in a transition area between Atlantic rain forest and araucaria forest in southern Brazil. Revue d'écologie 67: 313-327.

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.

Harter, B., C. Leistikow, W. Wilms, B. Truylio, and W. Engels. 2002. Bees collecting pollen from flowers with poricidal anthers in a south Brazilian Araucaria forest: a community study. Journal of Apicultural Research 41(1-2): 9-16.

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 1906: 1-127.