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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 Melanosarus (Megachile Subgenus Melanosarus) » Carpenter-mimic Leafcutter Bee (Megachile xylocopoides) Species Megachile xylocopoides - Carpenter-mimic Leafcutter Bee
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 Melanosarus)
Species xylocopoides (Carpenter-mimic Leafcutter Bee)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Megachile xylocopoides Smith, 1853 Explanation of Names From the large-carpenter-bee genus Xylocopa + the Greek ending -oides (-οιδης)- "looking like, like" Size ♂ 10-11 mm; ♀ 12-13 mm (Smith, 1853--see Remarks) Identification A very dark Megachile, resembles a Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa, especially such blue-black species as Xylocopa micans.
Quoting from Bees of Florida: Subgenus Melanosarus Mitchell, 2 species. A neotropical subgenus with 2 species in the USA. M. bahamensis is restricted to SE Florida while M. xylocopoides likely occurs throughout the state.... Megachilidae: Megachile xylocopoides Smith. ... Dates: March to November. Notes: primarily a coastal plain species of the SE USA; extends west to to the western deserts. Range Southeastern United States, esp. coastal plain
Season March-November (Florida). May-September (North Carolina) Food The Hosts section on its Discover Life species page lists known floral associations based on specimen records and images. Pollen specialist on Asteraceae. Remarks Smith ( 1853) gave length of male as "5 lines", female "6 lines". If this refers to the English line (1/12 inch, or about 2.1 mm as used by botanists, though sometimes reckoned as 1/10 inch!), that gives 10-11 mm for the male, 12-13 mm for female. Print References Brimley, p. 460, lists for coastal plain and (one record) lower Piedmont of North Carolina. (1)Internet References Florida Bees--photos of specimens and descriptions of this, and a related species, M. bahamensis.
Works Cited | 1. | Insects of North Carolina
C.S. Brimley. 1938. North Carolina Department of Agriculture. | |
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