Melitoma segmentaria (Fabricius, 1804)
Lateral view of female of Melitoma segmentaria (Fabricius, 1804) Photo: M.Lucia
Geographic distribution
Distribution
Solitary bees, soil excavators
- Argentina
- Buenos Aires
- Chaco
- Corrientes
- Entre Ríos
- Formosa
- Jujuy
- Misiones
- Salta
- San Luis
- Tucumán
- Uruguay
Other distribution
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru
- Melitoma euglossoides Lepeletier & Serville, 1828
- Anthophora fulvifrons Smith, 1854
- Meliphila ipomoeae Schrottky, 1902
- Exomalopsis monozonula Cockerell, 1949
Nests of M. segmentaria are parasitized by Melittobia hawaiiensis (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) (Aquino et al. 2015). A high mortality rate has been reported in nests of Melitoma segmentaria, caused by the cleptoparasite Leiopodus lacertinus and the fungus Aspergillus flavus (Alvarez et al., 2025).
Ipomoea bonaerensis, Ipomoea cairica and Ipomoea indica (Ramello et al. 2021)
- HOLMBERG, E. L. 1903. Delectus Hymenopterologicus Argentinus. An. Mus. Nac. Hist. Nat. B. Aires 2 (3): 377-468
- BRÈTHES, J. 1909b. Hymenoptera paraguayensis. An. Mus. Nac. Hist. Nat. B. Aires (3) 19: 225-256
- BRÈTHES, J. 1909d. Una anthophorina parásita?. An. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires (3) 19: 81-83
- SCHROTTKY, C. 1913. La distribución geográfica de los himenópteros argentinos. An. Soc. Cient. Argent. 75: 180-286
- ROIG-ALSINA, A. 1998b. Sinopsis generica de la tribu Emphorini, com la descripción de tres nuevos géneros (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Physis (B. Aires) 56 (130-131): 17–25
- TORRETTA, J. P., & POGGIO, S. L . 2013. Species diversity of entomophilous plants and flower-visiting insects is sustained in the field margins of sunflower crops. Journal of Natural History, 47(3-4), 139-165.
- AQUINO, D., ALVAREZ, L.J., LUCIA, M. & ABRAHAMOVICH, A.H. 2015. First record of the parasitoid Melittobia hawaiiensis (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) associated with Emphorini bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, 50: 1-4
- MAZZEO, N. M., & TORRETTA, J. P. 2015. Wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in an urban botanical garden in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, 50(3), 182-193.
- SCHALLER, A. & ROIG-ALSINA, A. 2019. The nesting habits and flower relationships of the bee Melitoma ameghinoi (Holmberg) (Hymenoptera, Apidae), with notes on its taxonomy and distribution. Journal of Natural History, 53:27-28, 1633-164
- RAMELLO, P.J., ALVAREZ, L.J., ALMADA, V. AND LUCIA, M. 2021. The melittofauna and its floral associations in a natural riparian forest in Buenos Aires province, Argentina.J. Api. Res, 60(2): 241-254
- TORRETTA, J. P., MARRERO, H. J., GONZÁLEZ-VAQUERO, R., & GARIBALDI, L. A. 2023. Solitary bees in Pampean agroecosystems: a review about current status of knowledge. Journal of Apicultural Research. 1-20.
- ALVAREZ, L.J., SALINA, M.D., ESTRAVIS‑BARCALA, M.C., SOLIS, A.A., TIZZANO, M., ALMADA, V., SGUAZZA, H.G., LUCIA, M. & REYNALDI, F.J. 2025. Stonebrood in Argentinian wild bees: A neglected disease?. J Biosci 50, 42.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-025-00530-6
