Cook Islands Biodiversity Database

Species Page

Back to: «« Search Page | « Results Page

Add to My List

Lithurgus scabrosus

Black Leaf-cutter Bee

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult at nest-hole and detail (Cook)	65KB
Image:	Adults at nest-hole (Cook)	78KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Black Leaf-cutter Bee

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: RANGE India - Indonesia - Melanesia; EXOTIC EXOTIC Polynesia to Marquesas

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Polynesian, Naturalised; S.Group - widespread & common; ?N.Group; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Pollinator; damages dry wood

KEY FEATURES: Black bee that tunnels in wood and cuts discs from leaves. COLOUR black, with fringes of white hairs at neck and between abdominal segments. WINGS clear with black veins. THORAX black, surface rough, without large tufts of white hairs. ABDOMEN black, white intersegmental bands, beneath long black hairs.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+++	+++				P

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Lithurgus scabrosus (F.Smith, 1859)
SYNONYMS: Lithurgus (Lithurgus) scabrosus (F.Smith, 1859)

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; ATELOCERATA; HEXAPODA; INSECTA; PTERYGOTA; Hymenoptera; Apocrita; Aculeata; Apoidea; MEGACHILIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Pollinator
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: damages dry wood. Comments: Burrows into in dry wood, especially in the ends of Tree Hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus) to raise its young.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: one specimen, 3/1979, N.L.H.Krauss, in BPBM, ID R.R.Snelling '97 as Lithurgus scabrosus; specimen+photo, BESO#707, ID G.McCormack as Lithurgus scabrosus; specimens, Arorangi, upper beach, 2004/9, M.Kuhlmann, in 2006 paper as Lithurgus (Lithurgus) scabrosus; Mangaia: specimens, Ivirua makatea 30m elev., 2004/9, M.Kuhlmann, in 2006 paper as Lithurgus (Lithurgus) scabrosus; Aitutaki: 6 specimens, 1977, N.L.H.Krauss Coll. BPBM, ID R.R.Snelling '97 as Lithurgus scabrosus;

References:
Special Reference: Kuhlmann, M. (2006) Fauna and Biogeography of the Bees and Wasps of the Cook Islands (Hymenoptera Aculeata), J. Hym. Res. 15(1):26-37.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM03b, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
Please refer to our use policy.

Biodiversity Database: More Options | Help

My List: View List | Edit List | Clear List