''Megachile umatillensis'' is a species of
bee
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...
in the family
Megachilidae.
It was described by Mitchell in 1927.
Description
''Megachile umatillensis'' is a solitary,
robust, non-metallic bee.
The basal section of
tergum is concave towards the front and is without ridges. The species is black in colour and its dorsal
metathorax (metanotum) is almost perpendicular with the rear of its
propodeum. The margin at the posterior is roughly straight and it has a broad
scutellum. The bee's
tubercles and
pleura are without carinae (elevated ridges). It has linear notaulices. The front coxae of males are often spinose. The two recurrent veins of the front wings are attached to a submarginal cell. The species has dentate mandibles;
these are large in females.
It has four visible sternites (
ventrites) as well as four sternites that are not visible. ''Megachile'' species have three
maxillary
Maxillary means "related to the maxilla (upper jaw bone)". Terms containing "maxillary" include:
* Maxillary artery
*Maxillary nerve
In neuroanatomy, the maxillary nerve (V) is one of the three branches or divisions of the trigeminal nerve, ...
palps, and male specimens have larger tarsi at the front.
A female ''Megachile umatillensis'' takes pollen and
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
to its nest to create a "bee loaf" (
saliva
Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...
,
pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
and nectar).
Once this bee loaf is substantial, a female will deposit an egg upon this and chew up leaves to form a small, round cavity around the bee loaf and egg. The female will continue doing this until it completely fills its nest with eggs; it will then construct a thick wall around the nest from leaves. When the eggs hatch, the bees will feed on these bee loaves until they reach maturity, and will gnaw at the walls the following spring to leave the nest.
Females carry pollen under their
abdomina.
As a leaf-cutter bee, females of ''Megachile umatillensis'' may cut sections of leaves in oval or circular shapes to line the cells of its nest. Alternatively, they might use dried plant
resin to line nest cells, which it carries in its
mandible. The species creates its nests in soil, in stems of plants, in twigs, or will tunnel through rotting wood to create nests.
It does not produce honey and has a weak sting which it uses in defence. The species pollinates wild plants and crops and is a small or medium-sized bee.
The genus name ''Megachile'' comes from
Greek words mega (large; μεγας) and cheil (lips; χειλ), which refers to
mouthparts
Mouthparts may refer to:
* The parts of a mouth
** Arthropod mouthparts
*** Insect mouthparts
{{disambig ...
of species in the genus.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q10792265
Umatillensis
Insects described in 1927