Animalia > Arthropoda > Insecta > Hymenoptera > Megachilidae > Megachile > Megachile rotundata

Megachile rotundata (alfalfa leafcutting bee)

Synonyms: Apis pacifica (heterotypic); Apis rotundata (homotypic); Megachile imbecilla; Megachile nadia; Megachile pruinosa
Language: French

Wikipedia Abstract

Megachile rotundata, the alfalfa leafcutter bee or leafcutter bee is a European bee that has been introduced to various regions around the world. As a solitary bee species, it does not build colonies or store honey, but is a very efficient pollinator of alfalfa, carrots, other vegetables and some fruits. Because of this, farmers often use M. rotundata as a pollination aid by distributing M. rotundata prepupae around their crops. Each female will construct and provision her own nest, which is built in old trees or log tunnels. Being a leafcutter bee, these nests are lined with cut leaves. These bees feed on pollen and nectar and display sexual dimorphism. This species has been known to bite and sting, however it poses no overall danger unless it is threatened or harmed and its sting has bee
View Wikipedia Record: Megachile rotundata

Prey / Diet

Medicago sativa (yellow alfalfa)[1]

Predators

Dasypogon diadema[2]

External References

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
1Jorrit H. Poelen, James D. Simons and Chris J. Mungall. (2014). Global Biotic Interactions: An open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics.
2Predator-Prey Database for the family Asilidae (Hexapoda: Diptera) Prepared by Dr. Robert Lavigne, Professor Emeritus, University of Wyoming, USA and Dr. Jason Londt (Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg)
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0