Best Specialist Bee
Andrena hattorfiana is a specialist mining bee native to Europe. It’s notable for its exclusive reliance on field scabious flowers as a food source and its critically endangered status. This bee plays a vital role in pollination within its limited habitat and is of interest to entomologists studying...
Habropoda laboriosa, commonly known as the Blueberry Bee, is a solitary bee species native to North America. This specialist bee plays a crucial role in pollinating blueberries through buzz pollination, a unique method of extracting pollen. Its effectiveness makes it valuable for blueberry farmers a...
The Squash Bee, *Peponapis pruinosa*, is a small bee native to North America. It’s notable for its exclusive pollination relationship with cucurbit plants like pumpkins and squash. This solitary bee plays an important role in the reproduction of these crops. It's primarily found in agricultural area...
Xenoglossa strenua is a solitary bee species native to North America. It belongs to the Apidae family and is distinguished by its strict oligolectic diet, meaning it forages exclusively for pollen from specific plants. In this case, the bee relies entirely on the pollen of squash, pumpkin, and gourd...
Eucera pruinosa, formerly classified as Peponapis pruinosa and commonly known as the squash bee, is a species of long-horned bee native to North America. It is distinguished by its highly specialized ecological relationship with plants in the genus Cucurbita, which includes squash, pumpkins, and zuc...
Andrena marginata, commonly known as the small scabious mining bee, is a species of solitary bee native to Europe. First described by the zoologist Johann Christian Fabricius in 1776, the insect is recognized by the distinctive yellow margins on its abdomen. As a specialist forager, it relies almost...
Melissodes agilis is a species of long-horned bee in the family Apidae, native to North America. These solitary ground-nesting bees are active in late summer and are recognized by their relatively large size and long antennae. Females are specialist pollinators that primarily collect pollen from pla...
Hoplitis anthocopoides is a solitary mason bee in the family Megachilidae, native to Europe and introduced into North America. It is closely associated with viper's bugloss and related plants, from which females gather pollen and material for nest construction. Instead of nesting in a deep cavity, t...
Habropoda pallida is a solitary digger bee known for creating deep ground nests in sandy soils across various ecosystems in North America.
Melissodes desponsus is a solitary ground-nesting bee native to North America, recognized by its unusually long antennae and preference for thistle plants.
