Product Code Database
Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary . Characteristic traits of this family are the restriction of their pollen-carrying structure (called a scopa) to the ventral surface of the abdomen (rather than mostly or exclusively on the hind legs as in other bee families), and their typically elongated labrum.C. D. Michener (2007) The Bees of the World, 2nd Edition, pg. 122, Johns Hopkins University Press. Megachilid genera are most commonly known as and megachile, reflecting the materials from which they build their nest cells (soil or leaves, respectively); a few collect plant or animal hairs and fibers, and are called carder bees, while others use plant resins in nest construction and are correspondingly called resin bees. All species feed on nectar and pollen, but a few are (informally called ""), feeding on pollen collected by other megachilid bees. Parasitic species do not possess scopae. The motion of Megachilidae in the reproductive structures of flowers is energetic and swimming-like; this agitation releases large amounts of pollen.
Nests are often built in natural or artificial cavities. Some embed individual cells in a mass of clay or resin attached to a wall, rock surface, or plant stem. Nest cavities are often linear, for example in hollow plant stems, but not always (snail shells are used by some Osmia, and some species readily use irregular cavities).
The scientific name Megachilidae refers to the genus Megachile, translating roughly as large lipped (Ancient Greek μέγᾰς (mégas, "big") + χεῖλος (kheîlos, "lip"); their "large lips" and strong jaws are well-suited for collection of nest building materials.
Most Megachilidae build their nests in above-ground cavities; they all are solitary bees. Their nesting habits means that in some studies of bee diversity, this bee family is most likely to be the one encountered, even though the many ground nesting bees are much greater in species numbers (~70% of all bee species are ground nesters). For example, in Krombein's trap-nesting survey (1967), almost all bees that nested in his offerings were Megachilid species—40 of 43 occupying bee species. (They were outnumbered in diversity by almost twice as many species of wasps (75) that utilized the nests).
Because they are (mostly) above-ground nesters and more commonly attracted to artificial nests, megachilid bees are also more commonly cultivated than ground nesting solitary bees. They accept nesting materials made from hollow stems, tubes, and blocks with preformed holes ("nest blocks"), and several megachilids have become important species for agricultural / horticultural pollination. In North America these cultivated bees include the introduced Megachile rotundata, (alfalfa leafcutter bees), used extensively in alfalfa pollination, and the western native and frequently raised Osmia lignaria (the orchard mason bee or blue orchard bee), used in orchard pollination. Other Osmia and Megachile species are also in commercial use in North America, Europe and Asia.
A suite of megachilid rely on plant resins for nest construction. These "resin bees" are typically smaller than honey bees, and effective pollinators, although the hard glue-like resins can complicate management of other tunnel nesting bees. Carder bees, Anthidium, are unique for using plant fibers; there are 80 to 90 species of them in North America. Ironically, a non-native is best known— A. manicatum, the European wool carder bee, was accidentally introduced to the Americas in the late '60s and has now spread across the continent. It has been described as "... perhaps the most widely distributed unmanaged bee species in the world." Like most Anthidium, rather than cutting leaves or petals, A. manicatum scrapes the hairs from leaves to use for nesting material. It is atypical because the male is larger than the female and constantly on patrol, protecting a "harem" by chasing and even attacking all interlopers including honey and bumble bees, its tail equipped with multiple prongs that can knife in between the segments of almost any intruder.
Neither the introduced Anthidium nor its American cousins are considered parasites, only territorial and at times aggressive, though some genera are, including Coelioxys ( mostly of leafcutter bees), and Stelis (kleptoparasites of leafcutter and mason bees).
While some Megachilidae are extensively studied for their commercial possibilities (or impacts), others are studied by . Mason bees, not commonly cultivated, are known through extended observation and writings in the last half of the 19th century by Jean-Henri Fabre, with his writings made further famous by his English translator Alexander Teixeira de Mattos ("The Mason Bee"); Fabre wrote many observations, including of other Megachilidae, from his home in France, and his writings inspired many future researchers and enthusiasts, from Charles Darwin to Gerald Durrell.
Leaf_cutter_bee_nests.jpg|Nests of Megachile from Bangalore, India.
Leaf_cutter_bee_nest.jpg|Dissected nest of a Megachile
Cut_leaf_bits_from_a_Leaf-cutter_Bee.jpg|Dissected cut leaf bits from a nest.
|
|
