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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #426253
Research Project: Management, Conservation, Systematics, and Genomics of Diverse Bees for Sustainable Crop Production and Wildlands Preservation in a Changing Climate

Location: Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research

Title: New Cyphanthidium (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Highly modified female hind tibial spurs and convergence in East African drylands

Author
item Griswold, Terry
item COPELAND, ROBERT - International Centre Of Insect Physiology And Ecology

Submitted to: Journal of Melittology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/26/2026
Publication Date: 5/21/2026
Citation: Griswold, T.L., Copeland, R.S. 2026. New Cyphanthidium (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): Highly modified female hind tibial spurs and convergence in East African drylands. Journal of Melittology. 145. https://doi.org/10.17161/jom.vi145.24084.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17161/jom.vi145.24084

Interpretive Summary: A new species of resin bee pollinators is described for the first time. The previously unknown female of another species in the same group is also described. Both have a very large spur on the back legs of female bees. This large spur is only known for three other bees in the world. The new species is from a dryland area in eastern Africa known for having a rich and unique set of insects.

Technical Abstract: A new species, Cyphanthidium eardleyi, and the previously unknown female of C. sheppardi are described. New distributional records for a third species, C. intermedium, are provided. Similarities in the distinctive spatulate inner hindtibial spurs of C. eardleyi and C. sheppardi with Samba turkana, a cohabiting Melittidae, are noted, and the broader importance of the type locality, Usaki Hill, Kenya as a center of dryland biodiversity is discussed.