Cladistic analysis of Megachile (Chrysosarus) Mitchell and revalidation of Megachile (Dactylomegachile) Mitchell (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae)

Megachile is the largest genus of the family Megachilidae, being widely distributed throughout temperate and tropical areas of the world. The validity of M. (Chrysosarus) and M. (Dactylomegachile) was investigated based on a cladistic analysis of 63 characters of adult morphology of 14 taxa. The single most parsimonious tree (181 steps, CI=0.60; RI=0.63) resulting from an implied weighting analysis recovered M. (Chrysosarus) and M. (Dactylomegachile) as monophyletic groups. Both subgenera are redescribed and the value of the most frequently used characters in the taxonomy of Megachile is discussed.