Category: Genus page
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Holcopasites
If you’re not looking for Holcopasites, you might not see them. These very tiny cuckoo bees are easily overlooked, but up close are brightly colored with bold markings. In our region, you are most likely to encounter H. calliopsidis hovering above dry, hard-packed earth where its host campus bees Calliopsis andreniformis are nesting. Aside from…
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Genus Accounts
At present, our guide covers nearly 30 bee genera in the northeast. Each link will take you a page for that genus, with a list of the species in that genus that can be found in our guide. We are continuing to expand this list to include all bee genera in the northeast.
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Sphecodes
Sphecodes are a group of diverse and enigmatic cleptoparasites. Members of this genus are thought to predominately parasitize nests of other ground or wood-nesting bees, mainly Lasioglossum, but also Halictus, Agapostemon, Augochlorella, Andrena, Perdita, and Calliopsis. Deciphering the host associations of Sphecodes can be quite a challenge because their phenology does not always mirror that…
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Anthidiellum
Anthidiellum are tiny, compact black-and-yellow anthidiines. Bees in this genus build nests out of tree resin, carefully molded into a jug-like structure that hangs from vegetation and contains a single developing offspring. Anthidiellum can be locally abundant, especially when host plants are plentiful, and males and females are often seen mating for extended periods of…
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Perdita
Perdita are tiny sand sprites. Bees in this genus are affectionately known as “fairy bees” and they are most diverse in the desert southwest, with only a handful of species found in the northeast. Because of their tiny size, tight association with sand, and often strict host plant requirements, Perdita are rarely stumbled upon. In…
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Epeolus
Epeolus are cleptoparasites of cellophane bees (Colletes spp.). They are typically orange-red and black, with cream-white or silvery bands on the abdomen. Females sneak into nests while the host female is out foraging and lay an egg in the wall of a brood cell or in between the double-layered cell lining. Epeolus eggs hatch into…
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Calliopsis
A group of small, compact ground-nesting bees, often with yellow face markings. In our region, two species occur, with Calliopsis andreniformis being the more widespread and abundant species by far. Look for this species in early summer in the most trampled earth you can find. They especially like dirt paths, abandoned baseball diamonds, and wetland…
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Andrena
One of the biggest groups of bees in our region, Andrena are most easily seen in spring, when dozens of species emerge to take advantage of spring ephemerals and woody plants in flower. A few species are active in midsummer, but most are uncommon (with the exception of the exotic and abundant A. wilkella). Late…
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Habropoda
Habropoda are chunky, speedy bees, represented in our region by a single species. Habropoda laboriosa is a robust spring bee that looks much like a bumble bee, but females gather pollen in scopal brushes rather than corbiculae and males have big cream-colored spots on their faces. Species covered: Species requiring accounts: none
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Anthophora
Anthophora are zippy bees with a fast, hovering flight. Five species occur in our region, four of which nest in bare ground and one which nests in rotting wood. Ground-nesting species often form big nesting aggregations along exposed banks, eroded cliffs, and bare slopes. Anthophora have long tongues and often prefer foraging on tubular flowers.…