''Megachile fidelis'', the faithful leafcutting bee, is a species of bee in the family

Megachilidae Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Both that their pollen-carrying structure (called a '' scopa'') is restricted to the ventral surface of the abdomen (rather than mostly or exclusively on the hind legs as in other ...

. This species is found in the western United States, where it ranges from

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, west to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and north to

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, and often inhabits meadows and gardens. The bee is black, but covered by golden/yellow hair on its face, behind its eyes, on its

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

, below its wings (which are blackish) and on its legs. The

pollen basket The pollen basket or corbicula (plural corbiculae) is part of the tibia on the hind legs of certain species of bees. They use the structure in harvesting pollen and carrying it to the nest or hive. Other species of bees have scopae instead. E ...

of the species is located under its

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...

. As often found with most bees, ''Megachile fidelis'' feeds on the nectar of flowers - particularly the nectar of composite flowers. The nests of ''M. fidelis'' are created in almost exactly the same fashion as, ''M. perihirta'', the

Western Leafcutting Bee ''Megachile perihirta'', commonly known as the Western leafcutting bee, is a bee in the genus ''Megachile''. The bee is native to western North America, ranging from Nebraska to Texas and Mexico, west to California, and north to British Columbi ...

. However, adult bees do not leave their brood cells until all the cells between their cell and the end of the tunnel have been vacated. As with the case of many bees, larva grow extremely rapidly when in their brood cells. It is often found that this species of bee leave their nests around

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

. The species was first described by

Ezra Townsend Cresson Ezra Townsend Cresson, also Ezra Townsend senior (18 June 1838, in Byberry – 19 April 1926, in Swarthmore) was an American entomologist who specialised in the Hymenoptera order of insects. He wrote ''Synopsis of the families and genera of the H ...

in 1878.

References

External links

Colorado State University "Extension" - Leafcutter Bees no. 5.

The Faithful Leafcutting Bee
fidelis Hymenoptera of North America Insects described in 1878 Taxa named by Ezra Townsend Cresson {{megachile-stub