Hoplitis claviventris male

[JRsbugs]

Hi,

I guess this makes my assumption from the bee I saw and though was Hoplitis claviventris more a probability than a possibility?

Bees for ID please.



I got a female too which could be the same,

BioLib - Hoplitis claviventris - Image

[Jason Green]

Morning Janet,

A faded Megachile cf. centuncularis.

Take care,

Jason

[Matt Smith]

Agreed, a male Megachile. Male Hoplitis are more slender and smaller.

[JRsbugs]

Matt, as you will know, many species are turning up much earlier this year.

The photos I have found don't look so slender, on Nature Conservation Imaging site I would imagine they have their bees named correctly, but they might have named a male a female. It says they are 10mm, that's what size this was.

http://www.natureconservationimaging...aviventris.jpg

Downland bees

nests in stems including bramble and Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), is found in various habitats besides downland, notably broad-leaved woodland, heathland and the coast.

Plenty of bramble and Ragwort about, I now have Ragwort growing in my garden.

Does Megachile centuncularis have red front tarsi?

There's pics of Hoplitis claviventris on bold systems which show a red front tarsus.

BOLD Systems - Taxonomy Browser

No comments on the female?

[JRsbugs]

You will find a good pic of a male Megachile centuncularis on this site, I'll be darned if I can see red front tarsi!

Bee Tribes of the World

[Matt Smith]

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

Matt, as you will know, many species are turning up much earlier this year.

The photos I have found don't look so slender, on Nature Conservation Imaging site I would imagine they have their bees named correctly, but they might have named a male a female. It says they are 10mm, that's what size this was.

http://www.natureconservationimaging...aviventris.jpg

Downland bees



Plenty of bramble and Ragwort about, I now have Ragwort growing in my garden.

Does Megachile centuncularis have red front tarsi?

There's pics of Hoplitis claviventris on bold systems which show a red front tarsus.

BOLD Systems - Taxonomy Browser

No comments on the female?

The Hoplitis on the Bold system page is a horribly tatty and faded specimen, the "red" tarsi could well be an artefact.

The possible female may well be a female Hoplitis, it seems to be about the right size. Having said that, if I was looking to use this as the basis of a record, then I would have to stick with Hoplitis sp., it does not show enough detail to separate it from H.spinosus.

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by Matt Smith

The Hoplitis on the Bold system page is a horribly tatty and faded specimen, the "red" tarsi could well be an artefact.

The possible female may well be a female Hoplitis, it seems to be about the right size. Having said that, if I was looking to use this as the basis of a record, then I would have to stick with Hoplitis sp., it does not show enough detail to separate it from H.spinosus.

Thanks Matt, it would appear then that I do have some sort of Hoplitis.

Does anybody know of a 10mm male Megachile or otherwise which has red front tarsi?

I found a pic of a female Hoplitis spinulosa which will be correct.. by hovering the arrow over the pic it shows the spines and another thing called "parapsidial line" which I don't really know about, but it looks like a hump to me.

Hoplitis spinulosa f | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I have altered the back view and there might be a spine visible, not too sure though.

[Jason Green]

To be exact I was referring to the first, male. I don't have enough time at the moment to go analysing bees side-on (your second) where usual features are obscured (tarsal claws, wing venation, mandibular dentition, etc.)

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

Does anybody know of a 10mm male Megachile or otherwise which has red front tarsi?

Yes, centuncularis - I have a specimen with me at the moment so I'll put a couple of photographs on later, if you're interested. The red tarsi may show better here as your depicted individual is worn and may have lost covering pilosity. What other points do you notice about the male's tarsi, that may be relevant to Hoplitis?

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by Jason Green

To be exact I was referring to the first, male. I don't have enough time at the moment to go analysing bees side-on (your second) where usual features are obscured (tarsal claws, wing venation, mandibular dentition, etc.)

Yes I know you were referring to the male Jason! Have you looked at the specimen of M. centuncularis on the link I gave? If you have a male of centuncularis with red tarsi, perhaps you have not got the correct ID? I can't find one with red front tarsi. Take a look, I have found the pic and enlarged it..

http://www.yorku.ca/bugsrus/bee_trib...laris_Male.jpg

Yes, centuncularis - I have a specimen with me at the moment so I'll put a couple of photographs on later, if you're interested. The red tarsi may show better here as your depicted individual is worn and may have lost covering pilosity. What other points do you notice about the male's tarsi, that may be relevant to Hoplitis?

I doubt there is much pilosity which would hide the dark front tarsi on the specimen I mentioned, the photo is very clear, the specimen is in very good condition, and the photo enlarges more so you can get a very good look. Did you use keys to identify yours? If so, which, I have some keys but have yet to check them.

Yes, I would be interested to see what yours looks like, I'll just shut my eyes and imagine you didn't kill it.

We don't have many Megachile sp. so if it is there shouldn't be a problem finding which it is.

You had better ask someone like Matt or Stuart what points are relevant to Hoplitis male tarsi, I don't have keys for those. If you have keys please tell me so I can get some!

Time? What's that! I often go chasing IDs for others at the expense of my own photos and IDs, all part of the learning process.

[Jason Green]

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

You had better ask someone like Matt or Stuart what points are relevant to Hoplitis male tarsi

I already know, I was just curious as to what points you used before coming to an ID on your photo.

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

Yes, I would be interested to see what yours looks like, I'll just shut my eyes and imagine you didn't kill it.

Indeed, just as you are used to when basing one of your identifications on a Diptera.info site. Or that ZSM Hymenoptera bar-coding Flickr group. Or the French Syrphid site. Or BoldSystems. Or TheWCG - remember your Trichosirocalus weevil. Anyway, here it is:

I hope you find the image of some use - the feature seems to be variable, and I doubt would ever form the basis for their identification.

As Matt says, those on BS are tatty and worn and not in a position to compare to fresh specimens photograhically-speaking.