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Megachile mendica Cresson, 1878Megachile mendica snowi Mitchell, 1927 |
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 © Copyright John Ascher, 2006-2007 Megachile mendica |
 © Copyright John Ascher, 2006-2007 Megachile mendica, leaf-cutter bee |
 © Copyright John Ascher, 2006-2007 Megachile mendica, leaf-cutter bee |
 © Stephanie Kolski and Natalie Allen Megachile mendica, female, face |
 © Stephanie Kolski and Natalie Allen Megachile mendica, female, side |
 © Stephanie Kolski and Natalie Allen Megachile mendica, female, top |
 © Stephanie Kolski and Natalie Allen Megachile mendica, male, face |
 © Stephanie Kolski and Natalie Allen Megachile mendica, male, side |
 © Stephanie Kolski and Natalie Allen Megachile mendica, male, top |
 © Mary Paul Megachile mendica, female, scopa |
 Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department Megachile mendica, male, face |
 Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department Megachile mendica, male, side |
 Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department Megachile mendica, male, top |
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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 11-13 mm.; black, including tegulae and legs, spurs pale yellow; eyes very slightly convergent below; clypeal margin straight and entire; mandibles 4-dentate, but emargination between 3rd and 4th teeth slightly angulate, bevelled edges between 2nd and 3rd, and 3rd and 4th (fig. 38); lateral ocelli subequally distant from eyes and margin of vertex; cheeks below subequal to eyes in width, narrowed above; punctures deep and distinct, rather fine, quite close but not crowded across vertex, becoming more fine, shallow and close on cheeks, face below ocelli more rugose, clypeus and supraclypeal area shining, punctures well separated medially, becoming quite close on each side; pubescence whitish, quite copious and rather elongate around antennae and along inner margins of eyes, on cheeks below, becoming rather thin above, and over lateral and posterior areas of thorax, the vertex, scutum and scutellum largely black pubescent; scutum and scutellum rather dull, punctures in general fine and crowded, slightly separated in center of scutum, quite densely crowded on axillae, scutellum and pleura, propodeum somewhat smoother; mid and hind basitarsi slightly narrower than their tibiae; tegulae minutely and rather closely punctate; wings sub-hyaline, veins piceous; abdominal terga 2-5 shallowly grooved across base, basal margin of the groove slightly carinate and complete, apical margins narrowly depressed laterally but not medially, narrowly white fasciate, fasciae more or less interrupted on the more basal terga, discal pubescence short, erect, rather dense, entirely black on terga 2-5, basal tergum with rather thin but long and erect, entirely pale pubescence, without a distinct apical fascia; terga shining, punctures fine and well separated medially, becoming somewhat closer laterally; terguni 6 straight in profile, with no erect hairs evident, but some erect,rather sparse pubescence evident toward sides in dorsal view, surface very densely and finely punctate and more or less covered with fuscous, appressed tomentum; sternum 6 rather thinly covered with scopal hairs, the more apical of these black, scopa otherwise yellow; sterna 1 and 2 quite closely, uniformly punctate, 3-5 more coarsely and sparsely so, apical margins very narrowly yellowish-hyaline. MALE—Length 8-10 mm.; entirely black, including tegulae and legs, spurs yellow; eyes slightly convergent below; clypeal margin nearly straight, but median third very slightly produced, shining and impunctate, very slightly incurved; mandible 3-dentate (fig. 38), with a triangular, basal, inferior process; apical segment of flagellum slender and elongate; lateral ocelli slightly nearer eyes than to margin of vertex; cheeks very slightly narrower than eyes; punctures deep and distinct, rather fine, slightly separated across vertex, becoming somewhat finer and more shallow and vague on cheeks, densely crowded below ocelli, entire face around and below antennae densely and finely rugose beneath dense pubescence which completely hides surface; pubescence of face yellowish-white, that on cheeks greyish-white, quite copious and elongate below, greyish-white on thorax laterally and posteriorly, becoming somewhat more yellowish and with a few, intermixed, dark hairs on vertex and scutum; scutum dull, punctures rather fine and densely crowded except near center where they are very slightly separated, those on axillae and scutellum very densely crowd2d; pleura dull, subrugose, punctures closely crowded; propodeum somewhat smoother, with close minute, shallow and obscure punctures; front coxal spines well developed, quite slender and elongate, densely long pubescent posteriorly; mid tibial spurs rather short but well developed; all basitarsi much narrower than their respective tibiae; tegulae shining, very minutely and rather closely punctate; wings subhyaline, veins more brownish-piceous; abdominal terga 2-4 rather deeply grooved toward base of each, apical margins very narrowly depressed, especially laterally, very narrowly yellowish-hyaline; punctures of terga 1 and 2 very fine and close, uniform, somewhat coarser and well separated medially on 3 and 4, becoming slightly closer laterally, apical margin of 4 depressed across entire width; tergum 5 narrowly pale tomentose across base, apical margin very deeply and narrowly depressed, not fasciate, punctures rather coarse and close throughout; tergum 6 densely pale tomentose medially, carina with a deep, evenly rounded emargination, margin on each side very minutely erenulate, median teeth of apical margin fully as near each other as each one is to the lateral tooth;setose area of sternum 5 restricted, setae minute (fig. 36); sternum 6 with a single, transverse row of robust, curved setae on each side, other setae minute, apical lobe broad and short, lateral angles acute; gonocoxites of genital armature narrowed above base, compressed apically, apex subacute and flexed (fig. 37). DISTRIBUTION—This is a widely distributed species in the United States, occurring from coast to coast, and from Maine to Florida in the East. It is in flight throughout the season. FLOWER RECORDS—Amorpha, Aralia, Asciepias, Aster, Baptisia, Bidens, Bornchia, Ceanothus, Cephalant hue, Chrysanthemum, Chrysopsis, Cicuta, Cirsium, Clematie, Cosmos, Crataegus, Crotalania, Daucus, Enigeron, Eriogonum, Eupatonium, Flavenia, Galactia, Gerardia, Haplopappus, Helenium, Helianthus, Hypenicum, flex, Itea, Linaria, Medicago, Melilotus, Monarda, Nyssa, Ocimum, Oenothera, Opuntia, Phaseolus, Polygonum, Rhus, Riehardia, Rubus, Rudbeckia, Senecio, Solidago, Speculana, Spiraea, Stachys, Suriana, Tephrosict, Tnifolium, Trilisa, Vaccinium, Veronica, Vicia and Zinnia. Additional records by Robertson (1929) include the following: Acerates, Agastache, Apios, Blephilia, Boltonia, Brauneria, Camassia, Cassia, Coreopsis, Desmodium, Diospyros, Eryngium, Gaura, Impatiens, Lepachys, Lespedeza, Lycopus, Lythrum, Nepeta, Prunella, Peedera, Psoralea, Pycnanth emum, Rosa, Salix,Sliphium, Strophostyles, Symphoricarpus, Teucrium, Verbena and Verb esina. Three additional records are given by Michener (1947), Cyrilla, Gaylussacia and Pyrrhopappus. | |
| Identification | |
| Male Megachile brevis and Megachile mendica are not currently distinguishable. | |
| Names | |
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