Megachile (Callomegachile) disjuncta (Fabricius, 1781)

Kolosova, Yulia S., Potapov, Grigory S., Spitsyna, Elizaveta A., Spitsyn, Vitaly M. & Bolotov, Ivan N., 2022, Are invasive hymenopteran species replacing native mud dauber wasp-associated taxa on the Seychelles Archipelago?, Ecologica Montenegrina 50, pp. 1-16 : 15

Megachile (Callomegachile) disjuncta (Fabricius, 1781)

= Megachile disjuncta (Fabricius, 1781) ; Cockerell (1912): 39; Vesey-Fitzgerald (1950): 80.

= Chalicodoma (Callomegachile) disjunctum (Fabricius, 1781) ; Pauly et al. (2001): 207; Pauly & Madl (2013): 285.

Samples from Sceliphron fuscum nests examined: MAHÉ: Anse Petite Marie- Louise, 4.7870°S, 55.5272°E, palm-cinnamon forest, under rocky shelter, 25–27.ii.2016, 3 leaf rolls from separate mud dauber wasp cells, Bolotov leg. ; PRASLIN: Anse Possession , 4.3116°S, 55.7245°E, beach crest, 22.ii.2016, 3♀ collected during the cell constructing, 1♂ reared from a preimaginal stage, Bolotov leg.

Additional samples examined: PRASLIN: Anse Possession, near Sea View Lodge, 4.3115°S, 55.7291°E, 5 m altitude, coastal lowland, garden, 4–22.i.2013, 2♀, Bolotov leg.

Distribution: Oriental Region (Pauly & Madl 2013). In Seychelles, it is known to occur on Mahé, Praslin, Silhouette, Long, Conception, Fregate, and Amirantes (Pauly & Madl 2013).

Comments: It is a common invasive species in Seychelles (Pauly & Madl 2013; this study) that was introduced to Mahé sometime before 1908 and firstly collected from Morne Blanc and Long Island (Scott 1910; Cockerell (1912); Vesey-Fitzgerald 1950; Pauly & Madl 2013). The entrance of mud dauber wasp cells used by M. (C.) disjuncta is outlined with a black, wax-like substance, which partly soaks into the mud (Vesey-Fitzgerald 1950; this study). Dover (1921) noted that this species apparently colonized the nests of Megachile (Pseudomegachile) lanata (Fabricius, 1775) on Barkuda (now Honeymoon) Island, Lake Chilka, India.

FAMILY VESPIDAE LATREILLE, 1802