Megachile ( Megachiloides ) wheeleri Mitchell, 1927

Megachile ( Megachiloides) wheeleri Mitchell, 1927 View in CoL

Megachile wheeleri Mitchell, 1927: 107 View in CoL .

Megachile ( Xeromegachile) wheeleri Mitchell. Butler 1965: 9 View in CoL . Hurd 1979: 2066. Ivanochko 1979: 244. Mitchell 1937a: 355.

Megachile ( Megachiloides) wheeleri Mitchell. Raw 2002: 21 View in CoL View Cited Treatment . Scott et al. 2011: 56. Sheffield et al. 2011: 61. Reese et al. 2018: 22 View Cited Treatment . Sheffield and Heron 2019: 70.

Megachile spokanensis Mitchell, 1927: 109 View in CoL .

Diagnosis. The female of M. wheeleri can be identified by its 4-toothed mandibles with an asymmetrical emargination between the 3 rd and 4 th tooth, emargination deepest closer to 4 th tooth, and the widely spaced punctures on the apical half of T5, which are separated by 3–4 diameters. Females of M. wheeleri are most similar to M. manifesta ( see M. manifesta above) and M. nevadensis (see M. nevadensis above and Taxonomic Challenges). The male of M. wheeleri can be identified by its wide and spatulate procoxal spine without a setal patch at the base, the protruding triangular carina on the ventral mesepisternum (viewed ventrally, directly posterior to the procoxal spine), and the quadrate metatarsomeres (viewed laterally) ( Fig. 8G View FIGURE 8 ).

Notes. This species occurs in central Montana and the lower elevations of western Montana, west of 109° ( Fig. 1 View Figure 1 AI). This is the only member of Megachiloides besides the rarely seen M. pascoensis that has been found west of the divide. Photographs, a full morphological description, and notes on the biology of this soil-nesting species can be found in Sheffield et al. (2011).