Megachile foliata, Wood, T. J., Risch, S., Orr, M. C. & Hogan, J. E., 2025

Wood, T. J., Risch, S., Orr, M. C. & Hogan, J. E., 2025, An illustrated type catalogue of the bee species collected by Alfred Russel Wallace and described by Frederick Smith from Southeast Asia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), European Journal of Taxonomy 1028, pp. 1-144 : 104-105

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2025.1028.3129
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:06182A07-5DB6-4916-86AF-673865690CE2
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/251C1E7D-FFE7-163E-FDF7-1021FCFC50A1
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Megachile foliata
status

Treatment

67. Megachile placida Smith, 1862 View in CoL

Fig. 65

Megachile placida Smith, 1862: 60 View in CoL , ♂.

Type material examined

Holotype

INDONESIA • ♂; Gil. [Gilolo]; [probably 2 Oct.–5 Nov. 1860]; OUMNH, ENT-HYME2821 .

Type locality

Gilolo [= Halmahera].

Notes

Baker (1993: 223) wrote the following:

“Of two ♂♂ standing as placida in the UMO type collection, one, labelled ‘Gil.’ [white disc] and ‘ Megachile placida . Smith’, is the HOLOTYPE of that species and it has now been labelled accordingly. It is intact and in fair condition. The other, labelled ‘M.’ [Mysol, white disc] and ‘ Megachile placida Smith’ [blue paper, Smith], evidently the basis of Smith’s 1863 record from Mysol, has been labelled as of no type status. From collection data, placida would appear to be the ♂ of foliata Smith, 1860 , q.v., 5.13-7”.

Baker indicated that M. placida was a synonym of M. foliata by combining them using “syn. nov.”. For the Oriental species typified by the widespread Megachile bicolor (Fabricius, 1781) (the Callochile Michener, 1962 of Michener), specimens from the Moluccas show variation in the extent of the reddish pubescence, with a similar structure. We agree with the position of Baker, and formally synonymise M. placida with M. foliata syn. nov. For comments on the suggested collecting date, see Section 64.

Current status

Megachile ( Amegachile) foliata Smith, 1860 syn. nov.

Distribution

Indonesia ( Maluku: Ambon, Buru, Kai; North Maluku: Bacan, Southwest Papua: Misool), Papua New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands ( Lieftinck 1958, as M. placida ssp. puncticollis Friese, 1903 ; Ascher & Pickering 2024; current study).