Megachile cypricola

Megachile cypricola
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Megachilidae
Genus:	Megachile
Species:	M. cypricola
Binomial name
Megachile cypricola Mavromoustakis, 1938

Megachile cypricola is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae ^[2] native to Cyprus ^[3] . It was described by Mavromoustakis in 1938. ^[2]

Conservation Status

This species had not been observed since 1950, and was thought to perhaps be extinct, ^[1] until research performed to update a list of the bees present in Cyprus found local populations of the bee. ^[3] Later research revealed that while the species is rare on an island-level, it is relatively abundant locally. ^[4]

Ecology

All specimens collected during the re-discovery of the species were found on a native plant species, Onobrychis venosa. ^[3]

References

1. Dewulf, A.; Praz, C. (2015). "Megachile cypricola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T19199482A69263110. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-1.RLTS.T19199482A69263110.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. "Megachile". BioLib. 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
3. Varnava, Androulla I.; Roberts, Stuart P. M.; Michez, Denis; Ascher, John S.; Petanidou, Theodora; Dimitriou, Stavroula; Devalez, Jelle; Pittara, Marilena; Stavrinides, Menelaos C. (2020-04-06). "The wild bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) of the island of Cyprus". ZooKeys (924): 1–114. Bibcode:2020ZooK..924....1V. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.924.38328 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   7154044 . PMID   32308528.
4. Santerre, Rémi; Benrezkallah, Jordan; Varnava, Androulla I.; Michez, Denis; Stavrinides, Menelaos C. (2025-06-02). "Ecology and population assessment of Megachile cypricola Mavromoustakis, 1938 (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), a threatened bee endemic to Cyprus". Journal of Insect Conservation. 29 (3): 45. doi:10.1007/s10841-025-00679-3. ISSN   1572-9753.