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Megachile dakotensis Mitchell, 1926
Megachile (Xeromegachile) dakotensis Mitchell, 1926

Life   Insecta   Hymenoptera   Apoidea   Megachilidae   Megachile
Subgenus: Megachiloides

Megachile dakotensis, Barcode of Life Data Systems
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Megachile dakotensis, Barcode of Life Data Systems

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Megachile dakotensis, female, clypeus
© Rebekah Andrus Nelson · 1
Megachile dakotensis, female, clypeus
Overview
Reprinted with permission from: Mitchell, T.B. 1962 Bees of the Eastern United States. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 152.


FEMALE—Length 13 mm.; black, tegulae brownjsh-testaceous, spurs yellow, legs black; eyes subparallel; clypeal margin straight; mandibles 4-dentate, a rather short bevelled edge between 3rd and 4th teeth; lateral ocelliconsiderably nearer eyes than to margin of vertex; cheeks slightly broader than eyes; vertex somewhat shining, punctures quite distinct, rather shallow, a narrow, median, impunctate line reaching from anterior ocellus to margin of vertex, punctures quite close on each side of this, densely crowded between ocelli, becoming rather sparse laterally, close on cheeks in large part, but somewhat separated toward posterior margin above; punctures below anterior ocellus slightly separated, quite deep and distinct, becoming densely rugoso-punctate laterally and below, beneath rather dense pubescence, quite close medially on supraclypeal area, becoming densely crowded on each side, close and fine along upper margin of clypeus, but somewhat more coarse and distinct but still rather close apically; pubescence largely pale on head and thorax, rather short and dense around antennae, on sides of face and on cheeks below, very short and fuscous in part, across vertex; pubescence quite copious and rather short on thorax practically bare, (possibly denuded in material at hand); scutum rather dull, punctures fine, well separated medially, becoming rather close laterally and posteriorly, those of scutellum, very fine and close except along mid-line, very fine and densely crowded on axillae, pleura rather dull, punctures fine and very close, becoming crowded above; lateral faces of propodeum somewhat smoother but rather dull, punctures hardly evident, posterior face somewhat velvety, punctures very close but shallow and vague, becoming inevident medially; mid and hind basitarsi about as broad as their tibiae, hind pair nearly equal to their tibiae in length; anterior tarsi much narrower than their tibiae; tegulae with exceedingly minute, hardly visible but rather close punctures; wings subhyaline basally, becoming faintly infuscated apically, veins brownish-piceous; abdominal terga 2-5 deeply and abruptly grooved across base, basal margins of grooves quite definitely carinate, apical margins of terga quite deeply depressed except on 1 and 2 medially, median areas of terga strongly convex, finely and quite closely punctate, with very short, black, erect pubescence visible laterally but inevident medially; tergum 6 about straight in profile, with no erect hairs visible, and only very short, erect, black hairs evident toward sides in dorsal view, narrowly rounded apically, apical half rather densely pale yellowish tomentose, basal half very minutely and closely punctate; sternum 6 rather well covered with short, black, scopal hairs, these becoming somewhat sparse toward apex, which is very narrowly fringed with short, black setae; scopa otherwise white, with only a few inconspicuous black hairs at extreme sides of sternum 5, the more basal sterna closely and finely punctate, punctures becoming more widely separated on apic.al sterna; no sternal fasciae evident.

MALE—Length 10-11 mm.; black, tegulae more brownish-testaceous; anterior tarsi yellowish in part, spurs pale yellow; eyes sub- parallel; clypeal margin very slightly out- curved; mandibles 3-dentate, inferior process sub-basal, rather broadly triangular; apical segment of flagellum slender and elongate; lateral ocelli considerably nearer eyes than margin of vertex; cheeks very slightly broader than eyes, much narrowed below but not angulate; vertex shining, punctures deep and distinct, rather fine and quite close medially, becoming slightly more widely separated laterally, slightly separated on cheeks above toward posterior margin, much finer and densely crowded along margin of eyes, very close and fine below, quite deep and distinct, slightly separated below anterior ocellus, but otherwise very fine and densely crowded on face and clypeus; pubescence largely pale on head and thorax, with only scattered, erect, dark hairs intermixed with the generally pale yellowish hairs on vertex and scutum, face with copious, elongate creamy-white pubescence, dense and snowy-white on cheeks below, shorter and thinner above, copious and rather elongate on thorax laterally and posteriorly, yellowish across posterior half of scutum; scuturn dull, very closely and finely punctate, punctures slightly separated only in center posteriorly, those of scutellurn fine and close each side of a somewhat shining median line, those on axillae very fine and close; pleura dull, punctures fine and close, becoming densely crowded above; lateral surfaces of propodeum somewhat shining, finely and shallowly but rather closely punctate, punctures posterior face close, very minute and rather vague; front coxal spines distinct, very short not much longer than broad at base, narrowly rounded, densely long white pubescent posteriorly, coxae without definite patches of setae; front tarsi slender and unmodified, pale yellowish, more or less brownish on anterior and posterior margins, not at all excavated, with quite dense, rather short, whitish, posterior fringe; mid tibial spurs well developed; mid tarsi quite short and slender, dark, with a much elongated, white, posterior fringe; hind basitarsi short and quite slender; tegulae very minutely and rather closely punctate; wings subhyaline, faintly clouded apically, veins brownish-piceous; abdominal terga 2-5 deeply grooved across base, basal margins of these sharply carinate, apical margins of terga deeply and quite abruptly depressed except on and 2 medially, with entire, dense, whitish, apical fasciae on 2-5, basal tergum with quite copious, elongate, white pubescence which is quite dense at extreme sides, whitish discal pubescence of following terga evident only toward base of each plate; punctures fine and close, becoming subrugose at extreme sides of terga 4 and 5, 6 white tomentose basally, punctures fine, densely crowded and irregular, or surface more or less rugose, carina entire, quite broadly and evenly rounded, median teeth of apical margin broadly can- nate, slightly nearer the small, acute lateral angles than to each other; tergum 7 largely hidden, with a very small, median, acute, apical angle; sterna 1-4 exposed, quite closely and finely punctate, apical margins quite abruptly and deeply depressed, narrowly hyaline, more or less densely fringed with white hairs; lateral pubescent plates of sternum 5 rather small but well defined, setose area broad but quite short medially, setae short and rather sparse, more or less dilated apically (fig. 48); sternum 6 with well separated, sublateral setose areas, setae short and robust, apical lobe broad and very short, lateral angles acute; gonocoxites constricted above base, slightly sinuate, much dilated apically, sparsely setose toward apex, tip with a tuft of elongate hairs (fig. 49).

DISTRIBUTION: Montana to Minnesota, Nebraska and Illinois, July and August.

FLOWER RECORDS—Amorpha, Cleorne, Helianthus, Kuhnist era, Petalostemon and Verbena. -

Names
Scientific source:

Geographic distribution
In the east, M. dakotensis is only known from Illinois. This species, however, is more widespread in the Midwestern and Great Plains states adjacent and to the west of Illinois .

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Hosts · map
FamilyScientific name @ source (records)
Fabaceae  Dalea candida @ AMNH_BEE (3)
Verbenaceae  Verbena @ UCRC_ENT (1)

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Updated: 2024-03-29 00:40:46 gmt
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