Megachile (Eutricharaea) vigilans Smith, 1879

Megachile (Eutricharaea) vigilans Smith, 1879

Megachilidae: Megachilinae: Megachilini: Megachile: Eutricharaea

Megachile paraensis Mocsary, 1887
Megachile vigilans Smith, 1879

INDIA: Chhattisgarh: Barnawapara wildlife sanctuary, 14-18.viii.2019, 2♀,2♂, yellow pan traps, coll. Bhojeshwari Sahu and Kriti Arpna Minz; Bhatapara, 12.v.2020, 1♀, yellow pan traps, coll. Bhojeshwari Sahu; IGKV, Raipur, 12.ii.2021, 1♀, blue pan traps, coll. Bhojeshwari Sahu; IGKV, Raipur, 2.i.2021, 1♀, white pan traps, coll. Bhojeshwari Sahu.

Female:
General description: Body black, body length 15.23 mm, mid and hind femora fulvous, white apical hair bands on dorsal metasoma.
Colour: Body black, tegulae dark brown, foreleg black with white hairs, trochanter and femora of the midlegs and hindlegs fulvous red.
Head: Mandible four dentate, one cutting edge on third interspace; face with pale white pubescence; clypeus convex, punctate shiny area medially without pubescence; inter antennal distance is longer than inter ocellar distance; antennae black at the base, fuscous apically.
Mesosoma: Black, fine dense punctuation, dense fulvous pubescence on lateral side of mesosoma; scutum and scutellum with fine pale white pubescence at outer margine; scutellum slightly hanged on metanotum; foreleg black with white hairs, trochanter and femora of midlegs and hindlegs fulvous red, hind tarsi with golden orange hairs on inner side; wings hyaline.
Metasoma: T1-T5 with pale white hairs band apically; T6 disc covered with suberect black pubescence; pale white scopa on S2 to S5, white fasciae of short hairs beneath the scopa present, S6 with black hairs.
Male:
General description: Body length 11.98 mm, black bee with yellowish face and pale white hair bands on metasomal segment; similar to female except as follows: face with dense yellowish white pubescence; mandible tridentate; all the trochanter and femur fulvous in colour; T6 with 4 spines, covered with yellowish pubescence.
Colour: Body black, tegulae dark brown, foreleg black with white hairs, trochanter and femora of the midlegs and hindlegs fulvous red.
Genitalia: gonostylus with bilobed distal end and sparse hairs; tip of the penis valves with hairs, directed straight and slightly dilated.

M. Vigilens may be confused with M. hera due to the size and similar pubescence on face and metasoma however this may be differentiated to Megachile hera by white sternal scopa and orange trochanter and femora of midlegs and hindlegs (Michener 2007).

India: Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Jammu.
Global: Shri Lanka, Southern Asia, America.

Gupta, R. K. (1993). Taxonomic studies on the Megachilidae of North-western India (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Apoidea). India Council of Agricultural Research. New Dehli. Reprint: 1999, Scientific Publishers (India) Jodhpur, 294 pp.

Gupta, R. K. (1993). Taxonomic Studies on the Megachilidae of North-Western India. Pawan Kumar Sharma, Scientific Publisher, Jodhpur, 294 pp.

Gupta, R. K. (1999). Taxonomic studies on the Megachilidae of North-Western India. Jodhpur: Scientific Publishers (India).

Hooda, S. & Jain, N. (2020). Diversity of Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in Kota, Rajasthan (India). Journal of Environment and Bio-Sciences,, Vol.34 (1), June-2020: 65-68.

Inoka, W. A., Karunaratne, P. & Jayanthi, P. (2008). Edirisinghe Keys for the identification of common bees of Sri Lanka. Journal of the National Science Foundation Sri Lanka, 36 (1): 69-89.

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) On-Line Database (2022).

Kannagi A., Sivakumar, V., Santhi, V. & Borgia, J. F. (2013). Hymenopteran diversity in a deciduous forest from South India. International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, Vol. 5(10), pp. 666-670.

Mitchell, T. B. (1962). Bees of the eastern United States. II. Technical bulletin (North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station), 152, 1-557. [Megachilidae, Anthophoridae, Apidae s.s.].