Hi, all. I recently got a query by e-mail from Stephen Bullington in
western Pennsylvania about a "giant megachilid" he'd seen three of (on his
milkweeds), which had made him curious. It sounded like an exotic species
to me, so I suggested he send one to Jerry Rozen at the AMNH. Turns out
that they are Megachile sculpturalis, an Asian species first encountered in
the US in North Carolina back in 1994 (Mangum & Brooks, J. Kansas Ent. Soc.
70:140-142). That they should have arrived already in western PA is
definitely interesting, and I'm posting this in the hopes that spreading
the word will alert bee people and other entomologists to keep their eyes
peeled, and maybe we can gather some information about the spread (and
impact) of this introduced bee. We have precious little data on introduced
bees ("beneficial" insects, to most people) as to their effects on native
pollinator species - and knowing where M. sculpturalis *is* might help. It
might also be worth checking in some museum collections to see if there
aren't any other specimens that can help trace the history of the
introduction.
        The species is quite large, over 20 mm long, with "a deep
honey-colored velvety "fur" on the thorax, and an abdomen that is black
dorsally on the second and succeeding tergites (there is some honey-colored
"fur" on the sides of the first segment)." The mandibles are also
relatively long and slender, and the head large. There should be a sketch
of the head on Stephen's web page at
http://www.key-net.net/users/swb/bee.htm for anyone who has some and wants
to compare.
 
Peace,
 
Doug Yanega    Depto. de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas,
Univ. Fed. de Minas Gerais, Cx.P. 486, 30.161-970 Belo Horizonte, MG   BRAZIL
phone: 031-449-2579, fax: 031-441-5481  (from U.S., prefix 011-55)
                  http://www.icb.ufmg.br/~dyanega/
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82