Biology of the Bee Hoplitis (Hoplitis) monstrabilis Tkalců and descriptions of its Egg and Larva (Megachilidae: Megachilinae: Osmiini)

Abstract

Herein we describe the nesting biology of the solitary ground-nesting bee Hoplitis (Hoplitis) monstrabilis Tkalců from eastern Turkey. Its shallow nests in the ground differ from the known nests of members of subgenus Hoplitis, most ofwhichmake mortar and pebble nests either on the exposed surfaces of rocks or within stems or other cavities. Cells are not lined with flower petals or other vegetative tissue, as expected for subgenus Hoplitis, but unlike other ground-nesting species of Hoplitis belonging to other subgenera such as Anthocopa. The egg of this bee is also described and illustrated, as is the fifth (last) larval instar. Copyright © American Museum of Natural History 2009.