Tag: chap-legged bee
-
Dark-veined and Agile longhorn bees (Melissodes trinodis/agilis)
Apidae > Melissodes > Melissodes trinodis / Melissodes agilis If you grow sunflowers in your backyard garden, you won’t have to go very far to find one of this pair of longhorn bees Melissodes trinodis and Melissodes agilis. Separating this species pair in the field is difficult (especially males), and both members have a strong…
-
Thistle longhorn bee (Melissodes desponsus)
Apidae > Melissodes > Melissodes desponsus Eastern thistle longhorn bee (Melissodes desponsus) can be found buried deep in the frills of a thistle. This late-summer longhorn bee is always found close to its thistle (Cirsium spp.) host plants. Females are large and robust, with a pale thorax and all-black abdomen, but don’t be fooled into…
-
Drury’s longhorn bee (Melissodes druriellus)
Apidae > Melissodes > Melissodes druriellus Drury’s longhorn bee (Melissodes druriellus) is yet another player in the marvelous theater of goldenrods and asters. Females have a distinctive “banded” thorax created by a cinnamon stripe on the apical half. Look for these bees in August and September, but you’ll have to be fast to catch a…