Megachilidae

Lithurge scabrosus, copyright Aubrey Moore.

Belongs within: Apiformes.
Contains: Anthidiini, Osmiini.

The Megachilidae are a group of long-tongued bees generally characterised by a well-developed scopa (array of long hairs) on the metasomal sterna. The plesiomorphic scopa on the hind legs of other bee families is reduced in most megachilids; basal members of the family that retain a scopa-like array of setae on the hind legs have been treated as a subfamily Fideliinae but phylogenetic analysis indicates that this group is paraphyletic (Engel 2001; Cardinal et al. 2010).

Characters (from Engel 2001): Labrum broadly articulated to clypeus, frequently longer than wide. Single subantennal suture; suture meets lower margin of antennal socket in Fideliinae, meets outer margin of antennal socket in Megachilinae and Lithurginae. Facial foveae absent. Lower lateral margins of clypeus not bent posteriorly on either side of labrum. Flabellum present; glossa acute; labial palpus with first two segments flattened, sheath-like, and elongate; submentum strongly V-shaped and sclerotized, submental arms articulating with cardines slightly above cardo-stipital articulations. Galeal comb absent; stipital comb and concavity present; basistiptial process elongate. Pre-episternal groove absent. Mesocoxa entirely exposed. Metabasitibial plate variable (present in Protolithurgini and some Lithurgini along posterior margin; absent in Fideliinae and Megachilinae). Jugal lobe short. Metasomal scopa present (in nonparasitic females). Metapostnotum setose. Pygidial plate and fimbria of female present in Fideliinae and Lithurginae, absent in Megachilinae.

<==Megachilidae [Fideliidae, Fideliinae, Fideliini, Megachiliformes]
    |  i. s.: Heteranthidium C90
    |           |--H. fontemvitae Schwarz 1926 S69
    |           `--H. larreae C90
    |         Parafidelia R35
    |--Neofidelia profuga Moure & Michener 1955 CSD10
    `--+--Fidelia CSD10
       |    |--F. major (Friese 1911) CSD10
       |    `--F. villosa R35
       `--+--+--+--Pararhopalites [Pararhophitini] CSD10
          |  |  |    `--P. quadratus (Friese 1898) CSD10
          |  |  `--Dioxys [Dioxyina, Dioxyini] PK17
          |  |       |--D. chalicoda Le Peletier 1849 E12
          |  |       |--D. cincta PK17
          |  |       `--D. pomonae Cockerell 1910 CSD10
          |  `--Megachilinae [Megachiles] CSD10
          |       |  i. s.: Probombus Piton 1940 CSD10, E01
          |       |           `--*P. hirsutus Piton 1940 E01
          |       |--Anthidiini PK17
          |       `--+--Osmiini CSD10
          |          `--Ctenoplectrellini [Ctenoplectrellina] CSD10
          |               |--Friccomelissa schopowi CSD10
          |               |--Glaesosmia Engel 2001 E01
          |               |    `--*G. genalis Engel 2001 E01
          |               `--Ctenoplectrella Cockerell 1909 E01
          |                    |--*C. viridiceps Cockerell 1909 (see below for synonymy) E01
          |                    |--C. cockerelli Engel 2001 E01
          |                    `--C. grimaldii Engel 2001 E01
          `--Lithurginae E01
               |--Protolithurgus Engel 2001 [Protolithurgini] E01
               |    `--*P. ditomeus Engel 2001 E01
               `--Lithurgini [Trichothurgini] CSD10
                    |--+--Microthurge CSD10
                    |  `--Trichothurgus CSD10 [incl. Lithurgomma E01]
                    |       `--T. herbsti (Friese 1905) CSD10
                    `--Lithurge Latreille 1825 PK17, M65 [=Lithurgus Berthold 1827 M65]
                         |  i. s.: L. adamiticus (Heer 1865) E01
                         |         ‘Lithurgus’ chrysurus PK17
                         |         L. echinocacti Cockerell 1898 CSD10
                         |         ‘Lithurgus’ fuscipennis R35
                         |         L. rubricatus Smith 1853 E01
                         `--L. (Lithurge) M65
                              |--*L. (L.) cornutus (Fabricius 1787) [=Andrena cornuta, *Lithurgus cornutus] M65
                              |--L. (L.) albofimbriatus Sichel 1867 M65
                              |--L. (L.) atratiformis Cockerell 1905 M65
                              |--L. (L.) atratus Smith 1853 M65
                              |--L. (L.) bractipes Perkins & Cheesman 1928 M65
                              |--L. (L.) cognatus Smith 1868 M65
                              |--L. (L.) dentipes Smith 1853 M65
                              |--L. (L.) fortis Cockerell 1929 M65
                              |--L. (L.) froggatti Cockerell 1914 M65
                              |--L. (L.) huberi M65
                              |--L. (L.) nigerrimus Krombein 1949 M65
                              |--L. (L.) rubricatus Smith 1853 M65
                              `--L. (L.) scabrosus (Smith 1859) [=Megachile scabrosa] M65

*Ctenoplectrella viridiceps Cockerell 1909 [incl. C. dentata Salt 1931, C. splendens Kelner-Pilaut 1970] E01

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[CSD10] Cardinal, S., J. Straka & B. N. Danforth. 2010. Comprehensive phylogeny of apid bees reveals the evolutionary origins and antiquity of cleptoparasitism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 107 (37): 16207–16211.

[C90] Crawford, C. S. 1990. Scorpiones, Solifugae, and associated desert taxa. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 421–475. John Wiley & Sones: New York.

[E01] Engel, M. S. 2001. A monograph of the Baltic amber bees and evolution of the Apoidea (Hymenoptera). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 259: 1–192.

[E12] Evenhuis, N. L. 2012. Publication and dating of the Exploration Scientifique de l'Algérie: Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Articulés (1846–1849) by Pierre Hippolyte Lucas. Zootaxa 3448: 1–61.

[M65] Michener, C. D. 1965. A classification of the bees of the Australian and South Pacific regions. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 130: 1–362.

[PK17] Peters, R. S., L. Krogmann, C. Mayer, A. Donath, S. Gunkel, K. Meusemann, A. Kozlov, L. Podsiadlowski, M. Petersen, R. Lanfear, P. A. Diez, J. Heraty, K. M. Kjer, S. Klopfstein, R. Meier, C. Polidori, T. Schmitt, S. Liu, X. Zhou, T. Wappler, J. Rust, B. Misof & O. Niehuis. 2017. Evolutionary history of the Hymenoptera. Current Biology 27 (7): 1013–1018.

[R35] Rayment, T. 1935. A Cluster of Bees: Sixty essays on the life-histories of Australian bees, with specific descriptions of over 100 new species. Endeavour Press: Sydney.

[S69] Steyskal, G. C. 1969. The mistreatment of the Latin genitive case in forming names of parasites. Systematic Zoology 18 (3): 339–342.

Last updated: 13 September 2017.