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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees » Leafcutter, Mason, and Resin Bees, and allies (Megachilidae) » Leafcutter, Resin, Mortar, Sharptail, Mason, and Woolcarder bees and relatives (Megachilinae) » Leafcutter, Resin, Mortar, and Sharptail bees (Megachilini) » Leafcutter and Resin Bees (Megachile) » Subgenus Eutricharaea (Megachile Subgenus Eutricharaea) » Alfalfa Leaf-cutter Bee (Megachile rotundata)

Species Megachile rotundata - Alfalfa Leaf-cutter Bee

small and bee-like - Megachile rotundata - female Small Bee - Megachile rotundata bee - Megachile rotundata - female Leaf-cutter bee (Megachile sp.) capping her nest - Megachile rotundata - female Potentilla Leafcutter - Megachile rotundata Potentilla Leafcutter - Megachile rotundata Megachile sp.? - Megachile rotundata Golden-tailed Leafcutter Bee - Megachile relativa - Megachile rotundata
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
No Taxon (Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees)
Family Megachilidae (Leafcutter, Mason, and Resin Bees, and allies)
Subfamily Megachilinae (Leafcutter, Resin, Mortar, Sharptail, Mason, and Woolcarder bees and relatives)
Tribe Megachilini (Leafcutter, Resin, Mortar, and Sharptail bees)
Genus Megachile (Leafcutter and Resin Bees)
No Taxon (Subgenus Eutricharaea)
Species rotundata (Alfalfa Leaf-cutter Bee)
Other Common Names
Lucerne Leaf-cutter Bee
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Apis rotundata Fabricius, 1793
Apis pacifica Panzer, 1798
Megachile imbecilla Gerstäcker, 1869
Explanation of Names
Megachile rotundata (Fabricius, 1793)
Size
Female 8-9 mm. Male 7-8 mm.
Identification
Narrow white sternal hair bands.
Range
Almost worldwide.
Discover Life Global Map
Season
It flies in June, July and August.
Food
The Hosts section on its Discover Life species page lists known floral associations based on specimen records and images.
Remarks
Introduced from the Old World sometime after the 1930s.
Internet References
Discover Life
Pollination ecology
Wikipedia
University of Guelph
Contributed by Ted Kropiewnicki on 6 August, 2008 - 7:24pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, John S. Ascher, Vox Sciurorum, hg, PaleoJon, Nathaniel Green
Last updated 25 May, 2023 - 2:54pm

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