Megachile (Megachiloides) anograe Cockerell, 1908

Megachile anograe Cockerell, 1908: 261 . Adhikari et al. 2019: Supplementary Table S4.

Megachile (Derotropis) anograe; Mitchell 1936: 158; 1944: 142. Hurd 1979: 2062. Ivanochko 1979: 257.

Megachile (Megachiloides) anograe; Raw 2002: 16. Scott et al. 2011: 55. Sheffield et al. 2011: 52. Delphia et al. 2019a: 25.

Megachile (Derotropis) laurita Mitchell, 1927a: 115; 1936: 160.

Megachile (Megachiloides) laurita: Raw 2002: 18.

Megachile (Xeromegachile) alamosana Mitchell, 1934: 329 .

Megachile (Derotropis) alamosana; Mitchell 1936: 158; 1937a: 330; 1944: 142.

Megachile (Megachiloides) alamosana; Raw 2002: 16. Scott et al. 2011: 55.

Diagnosis. The female of M. anograe can be distinguished by its 3-toothed mandibles (Fig. 7A) and a smooth and shiny T6 with well-separated punctures (3–5 diameters apart). For information on the rare melanistic form (not seen in Montana) see Taxonomic Challenges. In Montana, females of this species are only likely to be confused with M. pascoensis, which also has 3-toothed mandibles, but in M. pascoensis T6 is pitted and dull with closely spaced punctures (≤ 1 diameter apart). The male of M. anograe can be distinguished by its wide and spatulate procoxal spine (Fig. 8I), medially and laterally emarginate clypeus (Fig. 10B), fovea on the dorsal metafemur, and apicomedial setal patch on S5 (Fig. 10G). Males of M. anograe are most similar to M. pascoensis, but the clypeal margin is much more deeply emarginate medially in M. pascoensis (Fig. 10A). For further details on identification issues see Taxonomic Challenges.

Notes. At the continental scale, M. anograe and M. pascoensis are in general allopatric, with M. anograe east of the continental divide and M. pascoensis to the west. This division so far holds in Montana. Megachile anograe is the more common of the two in Montana, occurring in the drier southern and central counties east of the divide (Fig. 1B) while the rarer M. pascoensis is known only from the wetter northwest Montana west of the divide (Fig. 1 AA). Sheffield et al. (2011) report melanistic forms in the western U.S., though we did not find them in Montana. Photographs, a full morphological description, and notes on the biology of this soil-nesting species can be found in Sheffield et al. (2011).