Scientific Name: Megachile mendica
Family: Megachilidae
Native Range: United States, Pennsylvania
Size:
Active: Spring – fall
Color and Appearance: Black body with thin lines of hair along abdomen.
Scientific Name: Megachile pugnata
Family: Megachilidae
Native Range: Eastern North America, Pennsylvania
Size:
Nest: Solitary, leaf cutter*
Nesting Location: Pre-made tunnels or holes (Wilson and Carril, p. 184 – 188)
Nest Materials: Pieces of leaves stuck together with saliva (Wilson and Carril, p. 184 – 188)
Active: Summer
Color and Appearance: Black with whitish hairs
Pollen Collection: Hairs under abdomen (Wilson and Carril, p. 184 – 188)
Flight Distance: *
Bees in the genus Megachile (meaning “big lipped”) snip pieces of leaves to line their nests, giving them a common name of “leaf cutter” bees. Construction of each nest cell can take anywhere from 1.5 – 3 hours for Megachile sp. bees. (Wilson and Carril, p. 184 – 188)
*From Heather Holm, Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants. Minetonka: Pollination Press, LLC, 2014., p. 267.
Scientific Name: Anthidium manicatum
Family: Megachilidae
Native Range: Europe, Asia, Africa, introduced to North America in mid-twentieth century
Size: Medium with unusually strong sexual dimorphism. Females: 11 -13 mm (0.43 – 0.51 in); Males: 14 – 17 (0.55 – 0.67 in)*
Nest: Solitary, cavity*
Nesting Location and Materials: Preexisting cavities lined with tricomes (“wool”) from plant leaves.*
Active: Summer, (Wilson and Carrill, p. 176-178.)
Color and Appearance: Black with golden hairs
Pollen Collection: Hairs on face (Wilson and Carrill, p. 176-178.)
Flight Distance:
European wool carder bees are native to Europe, Asia and North Africa. They were first observed near Ithica, NY in the 1960s and have since spread across north America. While native Anthidium sp. are active in the spring, only the introduced Anthidium manicatum is active in late summer.
Unlike most bees, the males are significantly larger than the females. Their eggs are laid at the back of the nesting tunnel, meaning that the smaller females hatch first. Large males defend flower patches and wait to mate with passing females.
Female wool carder bees collect the fuzz from plant leaves and use it to line their nesting areas and create dividers between their brood cells. (Wilson and Carrill, p. 176-178.)
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthidium_manicatum).
August 12, 2020: I have observed a lone wool carder bee flying loops around the anise hyssop patch. I presume that this is our resident male, defending his patch from interlopers and looking for mates. Although Wikipedia says that males will defend their patch against even humans, he seems to ignore me. I appreciate that.
Scientific Name: Andrena hirticincta
Family: Andrenidae
Native Range:
Size: Small – Medium, 0.3 – 0.6 in (7 – 15 mm)*
Nest: Ground (sand, sandy loam, silt loam, sometimes lawns)*
Active: Spring – early summer, fall*
Color and Appearance: Moderately hairy, bands of yellowish hair on abdomen; facial depressions between compound eyes*
Pollen Collection: Scopae upper hind legs*
Flight Distance: ~ 500 yards, 450 m*
*From Heather Holm, Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants. Minetonka: Pollination Press, LLC, 2014., p. 258.
Family: Syrphidae
Native Range:
Size:
Active:
Color and Appearance:
Scientific Name: Hylaeus sp.
Family: Colletidae
Native Range:
Size: Small, 5 – 7 mm (0.2 – 0.3 in)*
Nest: Preexisting cavities: wood, stems or twigs*
Nest Lining: Silk-like salivary gland secretions, brushed on with glossa*
Active: Late spring – late summer*
Color and Appearance: Black with yellow markings; hairless, bilobed tongue, no pollen-collecting scopae*
Pollen Collection: Pollen stored internally in crop*
*From Heather Holm, Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants. Minetonka: Pollination Press, LLC, 2014., p. 257.
Family: Megachile
Native Range:
Size:
Active:
Color and Appearance:
I spotted these arthropods in the yard, but could not identify them. Hopefully I will come to recognize them over time.
Scientific Name: Agapostemon sp.
Family: Halictidae
Native Range:
Size: Small – Medium, 7 – 15 mm (0.3 – 0.6 in)*
Nest: Ground, Loamy soil*
Active: Late spring – fall*
Color and Appearance: Bright green head and thorax, some species with green abdomen, other species with black and white (females), or black and yellow (males) striped abdomen*
Pollen Collection: Scopae hind legs*
Flight Distance: Unknown
*From Heather Holm, Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants. Minetonka: Pollination Press, LLC, 2014., p. 260.
Scientific Name: Melissodes sp.
Family: Apidae
Native Range:
Size: Small – Medium, 7 – 18 mm (0.3 – 0.7 in)*
Nest: Ground
Nest Lining: Wax-like substance
Active: Mid-summer – fall*
Color and Appearance: Robust and hairy, often with pail bands on abdomen in the middle of the abdominal segments. Males: Long antennae*
Pollen Collection: Long scopae on hind legs*
Flight Distance: ~ 2 miles, 3.2 km*
*From Heather Holm, Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants. Minetonka: Pollination Press, LLC, 2014., p. 266.
