Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee Megachile pugnata Say, 1837    Synonyms: Megachile pugnata pugnata.
Kingdom Animalia   >   Phylum Arthropoda   >   Class Insecta   >   Order Hymenoptera   >   Family Megachilidae   >   Genus Megachile   

Description:

"Look how long and wide those mandibles are. Its not clear to me why this species requires much longer mandibles than others, it appears to not be cutting out larger pieces of leaves for its nests, but perhaps it is the type, processing and location of the leaf material that is important." (S. Droege, pers. comm.)

Relationships:

Specializes on composites and sunflowers are among its favorites (S. Droege, pers. comm.).

There are 27 records in the project database.

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A female Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee, subspecies M. p. pugnata, in Prince George's Co., Maryland (6/14/2016). Determined by John S. Ascher/BugGuide. Photo by Barbara Thurlow. (MBP list)

Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee in Maryland (Date obscured). (c) dillyt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by dillyt via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee in Howard Co., Maryland (6/26/2016). (c) Timothy Reichard, all rights reserved. Photo by Timothy Reichard. (MBP list)

Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee in Montgomery Co., Maryland (7/9/2019). (c) cdaily, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by cdaily via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (Date obscured). (c) Scar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Scar via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

A female Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee in Baltimore City, Maryland (7/4/2009). Determined by John S. Ascher/BugGuide. Photo by Thomas Wilson. (MBP list)

A female Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee in Baltimore City, Maryland (7/4/2009). Determined by John S. Ascher/BugGuide. Photo by Thomas Wilson. (MBP list)

A Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee in Frederick Co., Maryland (7/4/2014). Verification by John S. Ascher/BugGuide. Photo by Mark Etheridge. (MBP list)

A male Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee in Hardy Co., West Virginia (3/15/2017). Collected by Dave Smith. Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

A male Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee in Hardy Co., West Virginia (3/15/2017). Collected by Dave Smith. Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

A Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee in Hardy Co., West Virginia (3/15/2017). Collected by Dave Smith. Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

A female Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee collected in Washington, D.C. Photography by Hannah Sutton. Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

A female Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee collected in Washington, D.C. Photography by Hannah Sutton. Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

A female Pugnacious Leaf-cutter Bee collected in Washington, D.C. Photography by Hannah Sutton. Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)


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