Biology:Megachile angelarum

From HandWiki
Short description: Species of bee

Megachile angelarum
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Megachilidae
Genus: Megachile
Species:
M. angelarum
Binomial name
Megachile angelarum
Cockerell, 1902[1]

Megachile angelarum is a species of bee in the Megachilidae family.

Leafcutter bees

Main page: Biology:Megachilidae

Solitary bees, such as leafcutters, do not form colonies. Unlike social insects (ants, yellow jackets, honeybees), leafcutters work alone building isolated nests.[2] Similar to honeybees, female bees perform nearly all essential tasks of brood rearing. These native insects perform essential tasks, pollinating wild plants. The alfalfa leaf cutter bee (Megachile rotundata), native to Europe, has been semi-domesticated for crop pollination. In North America, the species was deliberately imported to assist in the pollination of food crops, but has now become feral and widespread.[3]

Cockerell, 1902. South. Calif. Acad. Sci. Bull. 1: 70 (♀)

Taxonomy and naming

The genus Megachile is a cosmopolitan group of solitary bees, often called leafcutter bees. While other genera within the family Megachilidae may chew leaves or petals into fragments to build their nests, certain species within Megachile neatly cut pieces of leaves or petals, hence their common name. The genus Megachile is one of the largest genera of bees, with almost 1500 species.[4][citation needed]

Life cycle and behavior

Distribution and habitat

Morphology and identification

Morphologically, they most resemble Megachile campanulae.[5]

See also

References

External links

Wikidata ☰ Q2242754 entry