2021/02/04 by Elisa Ribas-Marquès, Joan Díaz‐Calafat, Joan Díaz-Calafat
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies #Plant Parasitism and Resistance #Plant and animal studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/00218839.2021.1874177
crossref issued 2021/02/04 · crossref published 2021/02/04 · crossref published-online 2021/02/04 · openalex publication_date 2021/02/04 · crossref created 2021/02/05 · crossref deposited 2021/04/22 · crossref published-print 2021/05/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Megachile sculpturalis Smith 1853 is found for the first time on the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). This is the first time that this exotic bee is reported from an island and is the southernmost record in Europe so far. Specimens were found in five distant locations throughout the island, which points out the current broad distribution of this species within the island and suggests that the introduction of M. sculpturalis may have happened earlier than 2020 and went unnoticed. M. sculpturalis females were found mainly feeding and collecting pollen from Sophora japonica L. 1767 (= Styphnolobium japonicum (L.) Schott 1830) and Parkinsonia aculeata L. 1753, two exotic ornamental trees. Potential entry means and impacts of this exotic bee on local biodiversity are discussed. Island ecosystems are highly vulnerable to the negative impacts produced by exotic species. Judging from the evidence of negative effects described in the literature so far, we recommend that the invasive potential and the impact of this species on native plants and pollinators within the insular context of the Balearic Islands be addressed in the future.