Ashmeadiella (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) phylogeny, phenology, and forage

On-Demand

Presenting Author(s)

Elizabeth Murray

Washington State University
Colton, Washington

Co-Author(s)

LE

Laurelin Evanhoe

Cornell University, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Williamsburg, Virginia
Silas Bossert (he/him/his)

Washington State University
Pullman, Washington
MG

Monica Geber

Cornell University, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Ithaca, New York
TG

Terry L. Griswold

USDA ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit
Logan, Utah
Shaun McCoshum (he/him/his)

Westwood Professional Services
Odessa, Texas

Ashmeadiella (Megachilidae: Osmiini) is a bee genus endemic to North America, reaching greatest species richness in arid regions of the southwestern United States. We built a molecular phylogeny including all five subgenera and assembled life history data to lay the foundation for future conservation programs. We chose three aspects of bee biology that can inform conservation strategies: documenting periods of the year adult bees are flying, assembling data for the flowers each species visits, and compiling the localities and ecoregions where they have been collected. Our results suggest that Ashmeadiella subgenera need to be revised and that some species may need to be synonymized. Museum collection records reveal that adult flight periods range from a few months to most of the year, most species visit several flower families for pollen and nectar, and over half of the species have distributions in Mojave Desert.