Woolly Wall Bee
Megachile lanata
This record describes Megachile lanata (species). Recorded family: Megachilidae. Recorded order: Hymenoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
- Superfamily
- Trigonaloidea
- Family
- Megachilidae (Leafcutter, Mason, and Resin Bees, and allies)
- Subfamily
- Megachilinae
- Tribe
- Megachilini
- Genus
- Megachile (Leafcutter and Resin Bees)
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
Old World species, widely distributed through the Ethiopian and Oriental regions, and has been established in the West Indies since the days of the slave trade. Discover Life Global Map
Diet and Behavior
Diet: The Hosts section on its Discover Life species page lists known floral associations based on specimen records and images.
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: The common name refers to the specific epithet and to Fabre's common name for a related Old World species.
About Flies: the wider group
Order-level background for Hymenoptera, the group containing Megachile lanata. Species-specific details appear above.
Group overview
Hymenoptera includes over 150,000 described species of ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies. Earth harbors approximately 20 quadrillion (20×10^15) ants, with a combined biomass of ~12 megatons of dry carbon - exceeding the combined biomass of all wild birds and mammals (PNAS, 2022).
Ecological role of the group
About 35% of the world's food crops depend on animal pollinators. The chocolate industry, valued at over $100 billion, depends on pollinating flies and midges. Ants are the dominant soil engineers in most terrestrial ecosystems, turning more soil than earthworms in many habitats.
Economic and practical significance of the group
Pollinators contribute $235-577 billion worth of annual global food production (FAO). In the U.S., bee pollination alone benefits crops valued at $18 billion annually, and honey bees are responsible for $5.4 billion in agricultural productivity. Between April 2023-2024, 55.1% of managed honey bee colonies were lost. The U.S. bee population dropped from 5 million to 2.5 million.
Recorded sources for this group: FAO, USDA, EPA, PNAS (2022), US Fish & Wildlife Service. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.
Photos of Woolly Wall Bee (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Sean McCann; Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset , John S. Ascher , hg , Nathaniel Green