Melissodes druriellus

Melissodes druriellus is a North American solitary bee in the genus Melissodes, the long-horned bees, which belong to the family Apidae. Unlike honey bees, each female builds and provisions her own nest rather than living in a colony.

It is a specialist on the aster family (Asteraceae), feeding particularly on goldenrods and asters. That makes it a typical late-summer and autumn visitor in North America, when those plants dominate open fields and roadsides.

The name comes from the unusually long antennae of the males, which are far more elongated than those of the females. This antennal difference is one of the easiest ways to tell male and female Melissodes apart in the field.

Melissodes bees typically nest in the ground, with females digging tunnels in bare or lightly vegetated soil. Many species, like other ground-nesting solitary bees, form loose nesting aggregations where several females nest close together.