Neolarra

Neolarra
Neolarra pruinosa female
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Nomadinae
Tribe: Neolarrini
Genus:
Ashmead, 1890

Neolarra is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. There are about 16 described species in Neolarra, all from North America.[1][2][3][4] These bees are smaller than a grain of rice and are kleptoparasites of Perdita bees.

Description

Smaller than a grain of rice, these bees lay eggs in the nests of Perdita bees; the Neolarra egg hatches and the larva eats the egg and food store (of pollen[5]) intended for a Perdita larva. It enters while the host bee is gone to avoid detection.[6]

It is likely that, in order to hide them from the returning Perdita bee, the eggs are inserted into the walls of brood cells (underground chambers).[5] In order to overpowers and kill the young Perdita egg or larva the Neolarra larva develops and uses a hard, sickle-shaped tooth.[5]

Taxonomy

Neolarra was first described in 1890 by Ashmead, as a kind of wasp instead of a bee.[7] This was corrected by Baker in 1896.[7] The genus Phileremulus, created in 1895 when Neolarra was still considered to be a genus of wasp, was revised to be a subgenus of Neolarra by Charles Michener in 1939.[7]

Species

These 16 species belong to the genus Neolarra:

  • Neolarra alba Cockerell, 1916 i c g
  • Neolarra alexanderi Griswold & Parker, 1999 i c g
  • Neolarra batrae Shanks, 1978 i c g
  • Neolarra californica Michener, 1939 i c g b
  • Neolarra clavigera Shanks, 1978 i c g
  • Neolarra cockerelli (Crawford, 1916) i c g
  • Neolarra hurdi Shanks, 1978 i c g
  • Neolarra linsleyi Michener, 1939 i c g
  • Neolarra orbiculata Shanks, 1978 i c g
  • Neolarra penicula Shanks, 1978 i c g
  • Neolarra pruinosa Ashmead, 1890 i c g
  • Neolarra rozeni Shanks, 1978 i c g
  • Neolarra ute Griswold & Parker, 1999 i c g
  • Neolarra vandykei Michener, 1939 i c g
  • Neolarra verbesinae (Cockerell, 1895) i c g b
  • Neolarra vigilans (Cockerell, 1895) i c g b

Data sources: i = ITIS,[1] c = Catalogue of Life,[2] g = GBIF,[3] b = Bugguide.net[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Neolarra Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  2. ^ a b "Browse Neolarra". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  3. ^ a b "Neolarra". GBIF. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  4. ^ a b "Neolarra Genus Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  5. ^ a b c Best, Lincoln; Melathopoulos, Andony (December 2021). "Rare rabbitbrush fairy cuckoo bee discovered in Oregon". Oregon State University Extension Service.
  6. ^ Emry, Paige. Our Native Bees. p. 76.
  7. ^ a b c Michener, Charles D. (1939). "A Revision of the Genus Neolarra (Hymenoptera: Nomadidae)". Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 65 (4): 347–362. ISSN 0002-8320. JSTOR 25077445.

Further reading

  • Media related to Neolarra at Wikimedia Commons


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