Megachile (Xanthosarus) mucida Cresson 1878

Gibbs, Jason, Ascher, John S., Rightmyer, Molly G. & Isaacs, Rufus, 2017, The bees of Michigan (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila), with notes on distribution, taxonomy, pollination, and natural history, Zootaxa 4352 (1), pp. 1-160 : 112

Megachile (Xanthosarus) mucida Cresson 1878

County records: Berrien, Ingham, Ionia, Muskegon, Van Buren.

Notes. Megachile mucida is poorly represented in historical collections, especially from the northern portion of its range, but it is now quite common in late spring in the Lansing area of Michigan. Its adult emergence was among the earliest of Megachile species in the area and its coloration is distinctive, except with respect to separation from its close relatives M. gemula and M. melanophaea . From those, M. mucida can be distinguished by characters of the female mandible and of the male tarsi ( Mitchell 1962) and subtle differences in the distribution of pale hairs. Gibbs (2017) provided details on its distribution in Michigan and described its nesting habits.