Megachile Sculpturalis Research Articles

The Asian giant resin bee Megachile sculpturalis Smith 1853 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae), a new exotic species for the bee fauna of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)

Megachile sculpturalis Smith 1853 is found for the first time on the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). This is the first time that this exotic bee is reported from an island and is the southernmost record in Europe so far. Specimens were found in five distant locations throughout the island, which points out the current broad distribution of this species within the island and suggests that the introduction of M. sculpturalis may have happened earlier than 2020 and went unnoticed. M. sculpturalis females were found mainly feeding and collecting pollen from Sophora japonica L. 1767 (= Styphnolobium japonicum (L.) Schott 1830) and Parkinsonia aculeata L. 1753, two exotic ornamental trees. Potential entry means and impacts of this exotic bee on local biodiversity are discussed. Island ecosystems are highly vulnerable to the negative impacts produced by exotic species. Judging from the evidence of negative effects described in the literature so far, we recommend that the invasive potential and the impact of this species on native plants and pollinators within the insular context of the Balearic Islands be addressed in the future.

Updated distribution of the invasive Megachile sculpturalis (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Italy and its first record on a Mediterranean island.

Megachile sculpturalis (Smith, 1853) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) is an invasive solitary bee that is rapidly spreading all over Europe. The present study aims to update the distribution of this species in Italy. The research led to the collection of 177 records, obtained through bibliographic research and data-mining from websites, blogs and social networks. We here present the first record of M. sculpturalis on a Mediterranean island and discuss its possible effect on the native ecosystem. Given the particular discovery of M. sculpturalis on Elba Island (Tuscany), we suggest possible monitoring, containment and possible eradication measures of the species.

Environmental niche and global potential distribution of the giant resin bee Megachile sculpturalis, a rapidly spreading invasive pollinator

Since alien species may threaten native ecosystems when becoming invasive, one of the main challenges is try to predict their potential spread. Despite bees are essential pollinators and provide important ecosystem services in their native areas, outside these areas they could represent a risk for the local bee fauna, e.g. by competing for resources or by transmitting pathogens, as it was observed for species of Megachile, the bee genus with the highest number of recorded alien species. Here, using two complementary methods (Multidimensional Envelope procedure (MDE) and the Maximum Entropy algorithm (MaxEnt)), we aim to explore environmental niche as well as to identify potential worldwide distribution of the giant resin bee Megachile sculpturalis, native to Asia and recently introduced in North America and Europe. The two methodological approaches predict an important expansion for the species and reveal a preference for areas of Palearctic and Nearctic regions with reduced temperature fluctuations and moderate precipitation regimes. The Southern hemisphere seems not having good conditions for this species. Estimations for the future (2070) predict a further, though limited expansion to northern areas in the North hemisphere. However, during roughly 25 years of spreading outside its native range, M. sculpturalis clearly expanded the range of inhabitable environmental conditions, which may increase its potential invasiveness in a pattern difficult to predict using only correlative methods. Physiological and ecological data are necessary to better assess the potential niche of this bee species and in consequence to better predict its future spreading dynamics.

Dispersal patterns of an introduced wild bee, Megachile sculpturalis Smith, 1853 (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in European alpine countries.

Biodiversity monitoring programs are the baseline of species abundancy studies, which in case of introduced species are especially critical. Megachile sculpturalis Smith, 1853 native to Eastern-Asia, constitutes the first ever recorded wild bee species accidently introduced in Europe. Since its first discovery in 2008, M. sculpturalis has been spreading across the continent. By initiating a citizen science monitoring program, we aimed to investigate the occurrence pattern of M. sculpturalis. Within only two years after starting the project, 111 new reports from Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria were recorded. Comparably to other European countries, the population progressed remarkably fast from year to year expanding its area geographically but also ecologically by increasing its altitudinal range. The distribution pattern indicates human assisted jump-dispersal travelling on the major traffic routes of central Europe.

Bee hotels host a high abundance of exotic bees in an urban context

Bee hotels are increasingly set up by land managers in public parks to promote wild bee populations. However, we have very little evidence of the usefulness of bee hotels as tools to help the conservation of wild bees within cities. In this study, we installed 96 bee hotels in public parks of Marseille (France) for a year and followed their use as a nesting substrate by the local fauna. The most abundant species that emerged from bee hotels was the exotic bee species Megachile sculpturalis, representing 40% of all individuals. Moreover, we only detected four native bee species all belonging to the Osmia genus. More worryingly, we found a negative correlation between the occurrence of M. sculpturalis in bee hotels and the presence of native bees. One hypothesis to explain this result might be linked to the described territorial and aggressive behaviour of M. sculpturalis toward the nests built by the native fauna. This study raises the question about the usefulness of bee hotels for the conservation of native bees especially within cities harbouring high abundance of exotic bees. We provide here concrete advices to land managers to build bee hotels that can both host native bees and prevent the installation of M. sculpturalis.

Giant Resin Bee Megachile sculpturalis (Smith) (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

Originally from eastern Asia, the giant resin bee, Megachile sculpturalis (Smith), was accidentally introduced into the United States in the 1990s. It is considered an adventive (not native and usually not established) species and is present in most states in the eastern US. Although these bees can be found on various plants, they typically prefer plants that have been introduced from their native area. Some have observed that when collecting pollen or nectar, Megachile sculpturalis will damage local flora, making it unusable to future bee visitors. However, evidence has shown that, although an adventive species, Megachile sculpturalis is thought to be a pollinator of a native and federally threatened plant, the Apios Pricenana.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1258
 Also available on the Featured Creatures website: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/BEES/Giant_resin.html

Documenting Potential Sunn Hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) (Fabaceae) Pollinators in Florida.

Sunn hemp, Crotalaria juncea L., is a warm-season legume that can be planted in rotation to cash crops to add nitrogen and organic matter to the soils, for weed growth prevention, and to suppress nematode populations. Sunn hemp flowers also provide nectar and pollen for pollinators and enhance biological control by furnishing habitat for natural enemies. Experiments were conducted in Northern and North Central Florida to evaluate bee populations that visited flowers within mixed plots of sunn hemp and sorghum-sudangrass and plots of two sunn hemp germplasm lines. Collections of bees that visited 'AU Golden' and Tillage Sunn flowers indicated that Xylocopa virginica (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Xylocopa micans Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Megachile sculpturalis Smith (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), Megachile mendica (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), and Megachile georgica Cresson (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) were present in large numbers in May through July and then again in October. Although Tillage Sunn seeds planted in March flowered in May, percent bloom and number of bee visits were low. Compared with short day sunn hemp cultivars, 'AU Golden' plants produced flowers early in the season to provide food and habitat for pollinators and have the potential to produce an abundant seed crop in Northern and North Central Florida.

Cavity-Nesting Wasps and Bees (Hymenoptera) of Central New York State: Finger Lakes National Forest

During the summers of 2011 through 2013, we used trap-nests to survey assemblages of solitary cavity-nesting Hymenoptera and their nest associates, at two sites within Finger Lakes National Forest in central New York State. The 525 occupied trap-nests produced>2,000 identifiable offspring. Nest-provisioners included 13 species of wasps (Sphecidae, Crabronidae, Vespidae, Pompilidae), of which the most common were Isodontia mexicana, Trypoxylon lactitarse, and Ancistrocerus antilope. Of the 14 species of nest-provisioning bees (Megachilidae, Colletidae), the most frequent nest occupants were Megachile campanulae, Hylaeus annulatus, Osmia pumila, and Osmia cornifrons. The most prevalent natural enemies of nesting species were Coelioxys modesta (in M. campanulae nests), sarcophagid flies (in nests of several wasp species), and Leucospis affinis (in megachilid bee nests). The study documents the presence of 10 species not found associated with trap-nests in our previous two surveys in the Finger Lakes region: Isodontia auripes, Euodynerus leucomelas, Trypoxylon tridentatum, Osmia caerulescens, O. cornifrons, Hylaeus modestus, Megachile sculpturalis, Omalus aeneus, Sapyga centrata, and Coelioxys modesta. We review the results of the trap-nesting studies we have conducted in the region since 2001, providing a compilation of data on patterns of nest-size use for the most common species. Overall, our trap-nest studies have now recorded 38 species of nest-provisioning wasps and bees, along with 14 species of brood-parasitic Chrysididae, Megachilidae, and Sapygidae.

Floral Biology of the federally threatenedApios priceana(Fabaceae)

Apios priceana B. L. Rob. is federally threatened and little is known about its pollination biology. At the Redstone Arsenal population, Alabama, we studied its breeding system, determined major floral visitors and their pollination effectiveness, and explored pollen limitation of fruit and seed production. Fruit initiation was low (3.9%) for cross-pollinated flowers but only marginally greater than for self-pollinated or nonpollinated flowers (none initiated a fruit). Most floral visits (97%) were by bees with 43% of visits by large bees (> 1.5 cm in length) and 51% by medium bees (1–1.5 cm in length). Keel petals of A. priceana flowers enclose the style and stamens: flowers must be “tripped” for pollination to occur. Large and medium bees were equally effective in tripping flowers, whereas small bees (< 1 cm in length) did not trip flowers. Success of large and medium bee species (several Bombus species and Megachile sculpturalis Smith) in initiating legumes after a single floral visit ranged from 17–35% but did not differ significantly among species. Pollen supplementation showed legume production was pollen-limited: 24% of supplemented flowers produced fruits versus 6% of nonsupplemented flowers. Seed counts revealed a marginally nonsignificant trend for more seeds in legumes from pollen-supplemented flowers. We conclude that this rare plant species is dependent on medium and large bees for pollination, and that reproduction is partially pollen-limited. Conservation efforts should include measures to protect bee pollinators of this species to ensure that managed populations of this rare plant continue to reproduce sexually.

Range expansion of the Asian native giant resin bee Megachile sculpturalis (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Megachilidae) in France.

In 2008, a new species for the French bee fauna was recorded in Allauch near Marseille: the giant resin bee, Megachile sculpturalis (Smith, 1853). This was the first European record of this species that is native to East Asia. To our knowledge, it is the first introduced bee species in Europe. Here, we provide an overview of the current distribution of M. sculpturalis in France and we describe the history of its range expansion. Besides our own observations, information was compiled from literature and Internet websites, and by contacting naturalist networks. We collected a total of 117 records (locality × year combinations) for the 2008–2016 period. The geographical range of M. sculpturalis has extended remarkably, now occupying a third of continental France, with the most northern and western records located 335 and 520 km from Allauch, respectively. Information on its phenology, feeding, and nesting behavior is also provided. We report several events of nest occupation or eviction of Osmia sp. and Xylocopa sp. individuals by M. sculpturalis. Our results show that M. sculpturalis is now well established in France. Given its capacity to adapt and rapidly expand its range, we recommend amplifying the monitoring of this species to better anticipate the changes in its geographical range and its potential impacts on native bees.

Écologie et distribution de l’abeille originaire d’Asie Megachile sculpturalis Smith 1853 (Apoidea - Megachilidae - Megachilini) : un état des connaissances dix ans après sa première observation en Europe

Ecology and distribution of the Asian bee Megachile sculpturalis Smith 1853 (Apoidea - Megachilidae - Megachilini): a state of knowledge ten years after its first observation in Europe. - Megachile sculpturalis (the Giant Resin Bee) is a bee species native to East Asia that has been observed for the first time in Europe in 2008 in Allauch near Marseille (France). In the USA, it has been reported in 1994 and has since then rapidly expanded through North America. We here provide a review on its ecology and its geographical distribution.

&lt;i&gt;Megachile sculpturalis&lt;/i&gt;, the Giant Resin Bee, overcomes the blossom structure of Sunn Hemp (&lt;i&gt;Crotalaria juncea&lt;/i&gt;) that impedes pollination

Bee species that are effective pollinators of sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.: Fabaceae: Crotalarieae) are few in number because of the large size and papilionaceous structure of the plant’s blossom. Seed for this potentially valuable cover crop is largely unavailable due to the paucity of pollinators and to the plant’s self-incompatibility. The introduced Megachile (Callomegachile) sculpturalis Smith (Megachilidae: Megachilinae), the giant resin bee, has the anatomy and behavior to be a most effective pollinator. While holding onto the upper vexillum petal of the blossom with her mandibles, this bee has the strength to depress the lower keel causing pollen to be expelled by the style through the small opening at the end. The bee is long enough for its metasoma to extend over the end of the keel, and, as a member of the family Megachilidae, has scopal hairs on the venter of the metasoma, which are thus in an optimal position to contact the pollen. Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.: Apidae) are common visitors to sunn hemp flowers but are too small to be effective pollinators. A honey bee worker robs the pollen by inserting her proboscis into the end of the keel and extracting the adhering pollen. Possible problems could result from mutual enhancement of populations of an exotic bee and an exotic plant.

Observations of insect visitors to Price’s Potato Bean (Apios priceana, Fabaceae) in North Alabama, USA

Background and aims – Apios priceana is a rare flowering plant that can only be found in parts of the Southeastern United States. Little is known about the reproductive biology of this plant and only a few insect flower visitors have been previously documented. The aim of this study was to further document the insect flower visitors of A. priceana in North Alabama.Methods – Cameras and observers recorded flower visitors during the 2014 blooming season of a large North Alabama population of A. priceana.Key results – Although fifteen different species of insects were documented on flowers of A. priceana, most performed a single or very few visits. Bumble bees ( Bombus spp.), two species of Megachilidae ( Megachile sculpturalis and Megachile campanulae ), and the hummingbird clearwing ( Hemaris thysbe ) were the most common visitors. Interestingly, the giant resin bee, M. sculpturalis, is considered to be an invasive species but in this case may be pollinating a native and Federally threatened plant.Conclusion – Although A. priceana flowers are visited by numerous insects, Bombus spp. and, surprisingly, an invasive species ( Megachile sculpturalis ) are probably the most important pollinators of this plant.

Editorial

Bee hotels are increasingly set up by land managers in public parks to promote wild bee populations. However, we have very little evidence of the usefulness of bee hotels as tools to help the conservation of wild bees within cities. In this study, we installed 96 bee hotels in public parks of Marseille (France) for a year and followed their use as a nesting substrate by the local fauna. The most abundant species that emerged from bee hotels was the exotic bee species Megachile sculpturalis, representing 40% of all individuals. Moreover, we only detected four native bee species all belonging to the Osmia genus. More worryingly, we found a negative correlation between the occurrence of M. sculpturalis in bee hotels and the presence of native bees. One hypothesis to explain this result might be linked to the described territorial and aggressive behaviour of M. sculpturalis toward the nests built by the native fauna. This study raises the question about the usefulness of bee hotels for the conservation of native bees especially within cities harbouring high abundance of exotic bees. We provide here concrete advices to land managers to build bee hotels that can both host native bees and prevent the installation of M. sculpturalis.

Sequencing and characterization of the Megachile sculpturalis (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) mitochondrial genome

The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Megachile sculpturalis (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) has been reported in this study. This is the first sequenced mitogenome from the family Megachilidae. The sequenced region of this mitochondrial genome is determined to be 16 581 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and a partial sequence of the AT-rich region, and the AT-rich region contains several characteristic repeated sequences. Additionally, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis using all the mitochondrial genomes of Apoidea that are available in Genbank. Bayesian method supported the monophyly of both Apidae and Colletidae. And Megachilidae was inferred as the sister group of Apidae.

The Giant Resin Bee, Megachile sculpturalis Smith: New Distributional Records for the Mid- and Gulf-south USA.

BackgroundMegachile (Callomegachile) sculpturalis Smith, the giant resin bee, is an adventive species in the United States. First established in the United States during the early 1990s, records currently exist from most states east of the Mississippi River along with Iowa and Kansas.New informationNew distributional records are presented for Megachile (Callomegachile) sculpturalis Smith, an introduced bee. Additional records presented here expand the known distribution southwest through Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. An updated host plant list containing new records is also presented, expanding the number of known floral associations.

Aggressive Eviction of the Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica (Linnaeus)) from its Nest by the Giant Resin Bee (Megachile sculpturalis Smith)

Aggressive Eviction of the Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica (Linnaeus)) from its Nest by the Giant Resin Bee (Megachile sculpturalis Smith)

Occupation of Active Xylocopa virginica Nests by the Recently Invasive Megachile sculpturalis in Upstate New York

Occupation of Active Xylocopa virginica Nests by the Recently Invasive Megachile sculpturalis in Upstate New York

New Distributional Records of Three Alien Species of Megachilidae (Hymenoptera) from Connecticut and Nearby States

New distributional records are presented for three non-native megachilid bees—Anthidium manicatum (Linnaeus), Anthidium oblongatum (Illiger), and Megachile sculpturalis Smith. These bees inhabited every county in Connecticut and several others in nearby northeastern states. My records of A. manicatum from Massachusetts and Rhode Island and of A. oblongatum from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont represent the first published state records. The multiple, largely exotic, floral hosts reported with the distributional records provide more evidence that A. manicatum and A. oblongatum are polylectic. The current distributional range and the potential impact of these adventive species are discussed briefly.

The giant resin bee making its way west: First record in Kansas (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

The invasive giant resin bee (Megachile sculpturalis Smith) was first discovered in North America in 1994. A 2005 study provided the first predictive ecological niche model for any bee species and concluded that M. sculpturalis, then confined to the eastern United States, would eventually spread as far south as southern Florida, as far north as southern Ontario and Nova Scotia, and as far west as South Dakota, western Kansas, and northwestern Texas. Herein I provide the first record of M. sculpturalis from northeastern Kansas, documenting that the species has indeed continued its westward expansion in North America and the new available records entirely correspond to the earlier predictions.