Academic literature on the topic 'Megachile – Australia'

Austrothurgus Gonzalez & Engel, new genus, is described and figured for three species of lithurgine bees (Megachilidae: Lithurginae: Lithurgini) from Australia. Austrothurgus is distinguished from other Lithurginae by the presence of arolia in males (absent in females), first flagellomere long in both sexes, female facial prominence mostly involving the base of clypeus, and male metabasitarsus with distinct, elevated carina on its inner surface. Austrothurgus malgaru Gonzalez, Engel, & Griswold, new species, from Western Australia is also described and figured. A neotype is designated for Lithurgus dentipes Smith and lectotypes for L. atratus Smith, L. cognatus Smith, and L. rubricatus Smith. The following two new combinations are established: A. cognatus (Smith) and A. rubricatus (Smith). An updated key to the genera of Lithurgini as well as diagnoses, illustrations, and a key to the species occurring in Australia are provided. Taxonomic notes and a new lectotype designation for the Indo-Pacific species Megachile (Eutricharaea) rotundipennis Kirby are also appended.

Four species of velvet ants (Mutillidae) were reared from nests of solitary bees and wasps collected using trap nests in southwest Australia and identified using morphological and DNA barcoding approaches. All four species, Aglaotilla micra sp. nov., A. lathronymphos sp. nov., A. chalcea sp. nov. and A. schadophaga sp. nov., are described as new, the last three from both sexes. A. micra, A. lathronymphos and A. chalcea are parasitoids of wasps in the genera Pison and Aulacophilinus (Crabronidae), with A. chalcea also recorded from Paralastor (Vespidae). Aglaotilla schadophaga is a parasitoid of bees in the genus Megachile (Megachilidae). The biologies and known hosts of Australian Mutillidae are reviewed. Photographs are also provided of type material for Ephutomorpha aeneidorsis Turner, 1914 (=Aglaotilla discolor Brothers, 2018), Mutilla metallica Smith, 1855 and Ephutomorpha subelegans Rayment, 1933. The lectotype of E. subelegans is formally designated.

Eight instances of homonymy are identified in the megachiline genera Coelioxys Latreille and Megachile Latreille, with replacement names established for the junior homonyms. Coelioxys (Coelioxys) lethosyne Engel, new name, is proposed for C. simplex latefasciata Friese (nec Morawitz); C. (Liothyrapis) wuae Engel, new name, is proposed for C. albofasciata Wu (nec Radoszkowski); Megachile (Eutricharaea) hisarica Engel, new name, is proposed for M. dentata Rahman & Chopra (nec Friese); M. (Megachile) agnosta Engel, new name, is proposed for M. japonica Matsumura (nec Alfken); M. (Dasymegachile) schwimmeri Engel, new name, is proposed for M. mitchelli Raw (nec Gupta); M. (Creightonella) taftanica Engel, new name, is proposed for M. aurantiaca Rebmann (nec Friese); M. (Callomegachile) biseta austrina Engel, new name, is proposed for M. biseta australis Pasteels (nec Lucas); and M. (C.) ceratops Engel, new name, is proposed for M. monoceros Friese (nec Pallas).

Notes on a nest of the leafcutting bee Megachile (Moureapis) apicipennis Schrottky (Megachilidae) found in an abandoned gallery excavated by the carpenter bee Xylocopa frontalis (Olivier) (Apidae) are presented. A total of four nests were found at the end of the gallery. Brood cells were lined with imbricate pieces of leaves of Centrosema virginianum (L.) Benth. (Fabaceae). Four males and two females of M. apicipennis emerged as well as individuals of three species of natural enemies: Coelioxys otomita Cresson (Megachilidae), Brachymeria paraguayensis (Brèthes) and Melittobia australica Girault (Eulophidae). Our results were similar to the data obtained from other species of Megachile (Moureapis) Raw.

The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) has been present in Australia for approximately 150 years. For the majority of that time it was assumed this species could only be of benefit to Australia‘s natural ecosystems. More recently however, researchers and conservationists have questioned this assumption. Honey bees are an introduced species and may be affecting native fauna and flora. In particular, native bees have been highlighted as an animal that may be experiencing competition from honey bees as they are of similar sizes and both species require nectar and pollen for their progeny. Most research to date has focused on indirect measures of competition between honey bees and native bees (resource overlap, visitation rates and resource harvesting). The first chapter of this thesis reviews previous research explaining that many experiments lack significant replication and indirect measures of competition cannot evaluate the impact of honey bees on native bee fecundity or survival. Chapters two and four present descriptions of nesting biology of the two native bee species studied (Hylaeus alcyoneus and an undescribed Megachile sp.). Data collected focused on native bee fecundity and included nesting season, progeny mass, number of progeny per nest, sex ratio and parasitoids. This information provided a picture of the nesting biology of these two species and assisted in determining the design of an appropriate experiment. Chapters three and five present the results of two experiments investigating the impact of honey bees on these two species of native bees in the Northern Beekeepers Nature Reserve in Western Australia. Both experiments focused on the fecundity of these native bee species in response to honey bees and also had more replication than any other previous experiment in Australia of similar design. The first experiment (Chapter three), over two seasons, investigated the impact of commercial honey bees on Hylaeus alcyoneus, a native solitary bee. The experiment was monitored every 3-4 weeks (measurement interval). However, beekeepers did not agist hives on sites simultaneously so measurement intervals were initially treated separately using ANOVA. Results showed no impact of honey bees at any measurement interval and in some cases, poor power. Data from both seasons was combined in a Wilcoxon‘s sign test and showed that honey bees had a negative impact on the number of nests completed by H. alcyoneus. The second experiment (Chapter 5) investigated the impact of feral honey bees on an undescribed Megachile species. Hive honey bees were used to simulate feral levels of honey bees in a BACI (Before/After, Control/Impact) design experiment. There was no impact detected on any fecundity variables. The sensitivity of the experiment was calculated and in three fecundity variables (male and female progeny mass and the number of progeny per nest) the experiment was sensitive enough to detect 15-30% difference between control and impact sites. The final chapter (Chapter six) makes a number of research and management recommendations in light of the research findings.