Megachile (Litomegachile) coquilletti Cockerell, 1915

Pritchard, Zoe A., Ivie, Michael A., O’Neill, Kevin M. & Delphia, Casey M., 2025, A faunal treatment of the Megachile (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) of Montana with a key for their identification, Zootaxa 5683 (1), pp. 1-51 : 31

Megachile (Litomegachile) coquilletti Cockerell, 1915

Megachile mendica coquilletti Cockerell, 1915: 535 .

Megachile (Litomegachile) coquilletti ; Mitchell 1935a: 21. Butler 1965: 2. Hurd 1979: 2052. Ivanochko 1979: 93. Sheffield et al. 2011: 35. Bzdyk 2012: 41 . Kuhlman and Burrows 2017: 12 . Sheffield and Heron 2019: 70.

Diagnosis. The female of M. coquilletti can be distinguished by its moderately concave T6 ( Fig. 7M ) with brown to black setae (often with suberect pale setae in small patches laterally), 4-toothed mandibles with a semicircular, symmetrical emargination between the 3 rd and 4 th teeth ( Fig. 7B ), and long transverse medial carina on the apical margin of the clypeus (four times as long as diameter of median ocellus) ( Fig. 6H ). Females are difficult to distinguish from M. lippiae , which has suberect pale setae and erect black setae on T6 and a short medial carina on the apical margin of the clypeus (two times as long as diameter of median ocellus) ( Fig. 6G ). For further details on identification issues see Taxonomic Challenges. The male of M. coquilletti can be distinguished by its narrow probasitarsus ( Fig. 8A ), which is not excavated ventrally, and light to dark yellow coloration on tarsomeres 2–4.

Notes. This species has been collected in central and western Montana ( Fig. 1H ). Photographs, illustrations, full morphological descriptions, and notes on the biology of this species can be found in Sheffield et al. (2011) and Bzdyk (2012).

Figures

FIGURE 1. County-level distribution of each Megachile species in Montana. Females identified as Megachile latimanus/ Megachile perihirta (and data without recorded specimen sexes) are counted here as M. perihirta as they are not distinguishable from one another in Montana. Males identified as Megachile lapponica/Megachile relativa (and data without recorded specimen sexes) are counted here as M. relativa as they are not distinguishable from one another in Montana. Mitchell county records are included on maps but not in specimen counts. Two specimens did not have county-level localities and are not included in maps but are included in specimen counts.

FIGURE 6. Female Megachile characters. (A) Ventral view of metasoma with white apical setal bands on S2–6, (B) Dorsal view of rounded metasoma, widest at T2–3, (C) Dorsal view of subparallel metasoma, (D–H) Anterior view of clypeus: (D) M. apicalis, (E) M. mellitarsis, (F) M. fidelis, (G) M. lippiae, (H) M. coquilletti, (I) Lateral view of mandible gradually tapering in width towards apex, (J) Lateral view of mandible with base square-shaped with parallel sides for a distance as long as wide, then tapering apically, and (K) Lateral view of mandible square basally, with sides parallel for approximately ⅓ the length of mandible, then tapering apically.

FIGURE 7. Female Megachile characters. (A–H) Anterolateral view of mandible, (I–N) Lateral view of metasoma, tergites 4–6, (O) Lateral view of tergites on M. dakotensis, and (P) Lateral view of head with pronounced tooth on the posterior genal margin on M. pugnata.

FIGURE 8. Male Megachile characters. (A) Probasitarsus not expanded or excavated ventrally, (B) Probasitarsus widely expanded and excavated ventrally, (C–E) Anterior view of mesobasitarsus and mesotibia, (F) Lateral view of triangular metatarsomeres on M. manifesta, (G) Lateral view of quadrate metatarsomeres on M. wheeleri, (H) Ventral view of procoxal spine, longer than wide, (I) Ventral view of procoxal spine, wide and spatulate, (J–L) Dorsal view of vertex of head: (J) Ocelloccipital distance longer than ocellocular distance, (K) Ocelloccipital distance equal to ocellocular distance, and (L) Ocelloccipital distance shorter than ocellocular distance.