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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 Chelostomoides (Megachile Subgenus Chelostomoides) » Megachile davidsoni
Photo#958511
Megachile davidsoni - female
Copyright © 2014 Hartmut Wisch

Megachile davidsoni - Female
Lightning Ridge, elev. 2306 m, San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, California, USA
June 28, 2014
Size: ~ 17 mm
Note the large processes on mandible and clypeus, characteristic of the female. Females appear to use this to open the outer petals of the flowers of their pollen plant Ehrendorferia chrysantha to get nectar, while working the anthers between the inner petals with hind tarsi and ventral pollen brush.
This is fascinating to watch, and I hope to put it on video sometime.

Images of this individual: tag all
Megachile davidsoni - female Megachile davidsoni - female
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Contributed by Hartmut Wisch on 16 July, 2014 - 11:33am

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