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ARS Home » Plains Area » Sidney, Montana » Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory » Pest Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #427886
Research Project: Biological Control and Habitat Restoration for Invasive Weed Management

Location: Pest Management Research

Title: Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), a new megachilid with demon-like horns that visits the critically endangered Marianthus aquilonaris (Pittosporaceae)

Author
item PRENDERGAST, KIT - Curtin University
item Campbell, Joshua

Submitted to: Journal of Hymenoptera Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/6/2025
Publication Date: 11/11/2025
Citation: Prendergast, K.S., Campbell, J.W. 2025. Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), a new megachilid with demon-like horns that visits the critically endangered Marianthus aquilonaris (Pittosporaceae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 98:1017-1030. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.98.166350.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.98.166350

Interpretive Summary: Biological hotspots are areas in which numerous endemic plants and animals are found. Some hotspots, such as the Bremer Ranges of Western Australia have many bee species that have not been documented. Here, we describe a new species of native bee in the genus Megachile. This bee was collected off of a critically endangered plant (Marianthus aquilonaris) and may be an important pollinator of this plant. The limited known distribution, and short activity season of this species, in a region threatened by mining, suggests it may be a species of conservation concern.

Technical Abstract: A new species Megachile lucifer (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) is described from both sexes. Megachile lucifer sp. nov. is of conservation importance, as it is a visitor to the range-restricted, Critically Endangered flowering plant species Marianthus aquilonaris (Pittosporaceae). This new Megachile has yet to be collected outside the region in which this rare plant occurs. A unique feature of Megachile is the presence of a large pair of outward and upwardly facing, convex horns on each side of the clypeus, which is deeply recessed, and features in a medial ridge. These horns are found only in the female, unlike most sex-specific weaponry or ornamentation in animals. Other horns are found in Hackeriapis females, and the description of this new species provides the opportunity for future research into their function, and evolution among this subgenus. DNA barcoding with the CO1 gene confirmed the sexes belonged to the same species and it did not match any previously barcoded species. The species was collected only during mass-flowering of another host, Eucalyptus livida (Myrtaceae). The limited known distribution, and short activity season of this species, along with being associated with a critically endangered plant species in a region threatened by mining, suggested it may be a species of conservation concern.