Megachile bombycina
| Megachile bombycina | ||||||||||||
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| Megachile bombycina | ||||||||||||
| ( Radoszkowski , 1874) |
Megachile bombycina is a species from the genus Megachile ( leaf cutter and mortar bees ) from the order of the hymenoptera .
features
Megachile bombycina is characterized by broadly interrupted terminal bands that are only complete on the 5th tergite . The females can be recognized by their characteristic, pincer-shaped mandibles and the truncated head shield. With the mandibles stretched out, they become 19 mm long. The males are 13 to 15 mm long and have a conspicuous, long and thick hair of the sternites .
distribution
The distribution area of Megachile bombycina extends from Central Asia to Eastern , Southeastern and Northern Europe . Individual finds in the area of the Oder and Lusatian Neisse suggest that these rivers were the western border of the earlier distribution in Central Europe .
Way of life
Megachile bombycina lives solitary like most other leaf cutter bees. The flight time starts in June and ends in August. The blossoms of knapweed , hawkweeds and thistles are approached .
For the brood, cut reeds or tree trunks are used. The use of feeding tunnels by the larvae of wood drills was also observed. The walls of the brood cells are built from pieces of leaf.
Parasites
Several species of cone bees use the brood cells of Megachile bombycina for their brood parasitism . Another proven parasite is Melittobia acasta , a wasp from the Eulophidae family .
literature
- Manfred Dorn, Dieter Weber: The alfalfa leaf cutter bee and its relatives in Central Europe. Megachile rotundata a. a. In: The New Brehm Library . Volume 582, Ziemsen, Lutherstadt Wittenberg 1988, ISBN 3-7403-0047-7 , p. 85.
Web links
- Megachile bombycina at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved June 16, 2011
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Westrich , Holger H. Dathe : Die Bienenarten Deutschlands (Hymenoptera: Apidae) corrections and additions. In: Entomological Journal. 108 (4), 1998, p. 155 ( digital version , PDF )