AndrenidaeColletidaeMelittidae

A guide to their identification in

Eastern North America

Acknowledgements

• This presentation has been put together by a consortium of North American bee biologists

• This presentation has developed over many years and the original web picture acknowledgements were lost, if you see one of your pictures let us know and we will add your picture credit

• Correspondence can be sent to Sam Droege at sdroege@usgs.gov

Format

• Each Genus has an information page followed by a page of illustrations and a map of the distribution of Eastern North American species; western populations of Eastern species are shown, but the Western species are not mapped.

• The number of Eastern species are listed at the top of the page

Groups of Genera

Andrenidae• Andrena• Calliopsis• Panurginus• Perdita• Protandrena• Pseudopanurgus

Colletidae• Caupolicana• Colletes• Hylaeus

Melittidae• Hesperapis• Macropis• Melitta

Family: Andrenidae

Comprised of the following Genera:– Andrena – 116 species– Calliopsis - 3– Panurginus - 3– Perdita -26– Protandrena - 3– Pseudopanurgus - 15

Andrena

• Prominent facial fovea on females• Most species black a few with reddish abdomens• Some males and females with yellow on clypeus• Many species are pollen specialists • Many subtle characters available to separate species,

but when using guides score these very conservatively as there are more opportunities for error when the species number is high and the number of questions long and then double check against species accounts and the complete scoring for the species.

• Similar genera: Melitta, Colletes, Lasioglossum

Andrena - 116

Calliopsis

• Inhabits open fields.

• The very common C. andreniformis often inhabits heavily used playing fields and other human-impacted sites.

• Small size, 2-submarginal cells, the bright yellow legs of the male and the 3 vertical ivory-colored facial markings of the females are a distinctive combination

Calliopsis - 3

Small, C. andreniformis Common in Highly Disturbed Areas

Panurginus

• Small, spring, uncommon, black species• Males often having yellow on their face• 2 submarginal cells • Close to Pseudopanurgus (which are mostly Fall

species), but told apart by first recurrent and first transcubital veins directly intersecting

• Pre-episternal groove completely absent, but usually very hard to see

• Similar Genera: Pseudopanurgus, Perdita, Protandrena

Panurginus - 3

Tiny and Uncommon

Perdita

• Among the smallest of bees• Most males and females have patterns of white

or pale yellow on their face, thorax and abdomen.

• Most females with very thin and sparse tibial scopa

• Short, truncated marginal cell• Uncommonly collected but can be common in

sandy localities• Similar Genera: Pseudopanurgus, Panurginus,

Protandrena

Perdita - 26

Tiny, Sand-Lover

Protandrena

• A very uncommon group in the East

• 3 submarginal cells

• Best told by keying them out through the guide

• Similar Genera: Andrena, panurginus, Pseudopanurgus

Protandrena - 3

Rare

Pseudopanurgus• Fall species, often on composites• Similar to Panurginus• Small, dark bees, with 2 marginal cells• Pre-episternal groove present, sometimes very weak and hard to

see, running down and to the front from upper end of the mesepisturnum, in some minute species this is visible only at upper end

• First transcubital vein does not meet the first recurrent vein; first recurrent vein shifted slightly to the interior of the second submarginal cell

• Males have often extensive amounts of yellow on their faces. • Can be difficult to differentiate species• Similar Genera: Panurginus, Protandrena, Perdita

Pseudopanurgus - 15

Tiny, Uncommon

Colletidae

Comprised of the following genera:– Caupolicana – 2 species– Colletes – 35 species– Hylaeus – 24 species

Caupolicana

• A rarely observed genus restricted to coastal dune areas in the deep south and the sandy central Florida Ridge

• These fast flying large species are usually only active at dawn and dusk

• 2 submarginal cells

• The first recurrent vein usually joins or nearly joins the first transcubital vein

Caupolicana - 2Deep South, Deep Sand Specialist, Very rare

Colletes

• General body shape often similar to a honeybee

• Face heart-shaped due to the angling inward of the compound eyes

• Distinctive in that the lower portion of the second recurrent arches out toward wing tip

• Similar Genus: Apis

Colletes - 35

Hylaeus

• Black, small, thin-elongate body, with relatively few hairs and no scopa as this genus carries pollen internally

• Most females have elongate, thin, diamond yellow or ivory markings in the paraocular area between the eye and the clypeus/antennae

• Males usually have more extensive yellow facial markings, with yellow throughout the area below the antennae

Hylaeus - 24

Common, masked, no scopa

Melittidae

Comprised of the following genera:

• Hesperapis – 2 species

• Macropis – 4 species

• Melitta – 3 species

Hesperapis

• Extremely uncommon bees

• Restricted to coastal barrier islands in the Gulf of Mexico and dunes of the Great Lakes

• Abdomen noticeably flattened and integument soft compared to other groups

• Similar Genus: Calliopsis

Hesperapis - 2

Very Rare, Deep South

Barrier Islands

Macropis

• Rare bees, apparently much less common than in the past

• Associated with loosestrife (Lysimachia) plants

• Small, dark bees, males with extensive yellow facial markings, 2 submarginal cells

Macropis - 4

Small, Rare Bee, Oil

Specialist, Loosestrife

Melitta

• Andrena like, rarely encountered pollen specialists on Ericaceous shrubs

• Scopal hairs on female only on tibia not on femur and trochanter-like Andrena

• Females also lack facial foveae, unlike Andrena

• Males lack a basitibial plate

• Similar Genus: Andrena

Melitta - 3

Uncommon, Specialist

Resources• Species lists, Identification Guides, and Maps for

genera and species are available at: http://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?search=Apoidea• A guide to the genera of the bees of Canada is

available at:http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/ejournal/pgs_03/pgs_03.html• Mitchell’s 1960’s book on the bees of the Eastern United

States is available as a series of pdf files at:http://insectmuseum.org/easternBees.php• A slightly out of date guide to the identification of the genera

of ALL of North America is available at:http://www.knoxcellars.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?

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