Amegilla is a large genus of bees in the tribe Anthophorini. The genus occurs all around the world, but very few live above 45° North. Amegilla are associated with arid and subarid biomes, matorrals, steppes, sub-deserts and deserts.
Amegilla are generally medium-sized to very large bees of robust form. The body and legs are hairy, and the tongue and proboscis are long. All Amegilla species burrow to make nests, hence they are commonly referred to as "digger bees". Several species have blue metallic bands on the abdomen, and are referred to as "blue-banded bees".
All Amegilla are solitary species. They are very fast, agile flyers, and because of this, some taxa are close to impossible to catch. Females are adept at buzz-pollination, and some species have proven or potential value as pollinators of greenhouse tomatoes.
Selected species
Amegilla albiceps (Rayment, 1951) Amegilla asserta (Cockerell, 1926) Amegilla bombiformis (Smith, 1854) Amegilla calens (Lepeletier, 1841) Amegilla canifrons (Smith, 1854) Amegilla cingulata (Fabricius, 1775) Amegilla cingulifera (Cockerell, 1910) Amegilla comberi (Cockerell, 1911) Amegilla confusa (Smith, 1854) Amegilla dawsoni (Rayment, 1951) Amegilla fallax (Smith, 1879) Amegilla mucorea (Klug, 1845) Amegilla niveocincta (Smith, 1854) Amegilla puttalama (Strand, 1913) Amegilla quadrifasciata (Devillers, 1789) Amegilla subcoerulea (Lepeletier, 1841) Amegilla subinsularis (Strand, 1910) Amegilla violacea (Lepeletier, 1841) Amegilla zonata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Ecology
Pollination
Several Amegilla species, specifically Amegilla nigritar and Amegilla zonata, pollinate the orchid species Phalaenopsis pulcherrima.
See also
Josephine Cardale, an Amegilla researcher
References
Pierre Rasmont, Bees of Europe (2019)