Guide to the Bee Genera within Apidae of Eastern North America, Part 1

Big Bees – Part 1

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

Apidae (Recently Combined with Anthophoridae) Groups of Genera
Covered in this presentation:
Anthophora – 6 species
Melecta - 1
Habropoda - 1
Holcopasites - 3
Neolarra - 1
Nomada - 80
Centris – 3
Ericrocis - 1
Ptilothrix – 1
Cemolobus - 1
Xylocopa – 2
Ceratina – 4
Euglossa - 1
Epeoloides – 1
Covered in Apidae part 2 presentation:
Peponapis - 1
Xenoglossa - 2
Apis - 1
Bombus - 20
Anthophorula - 2
Exomalopsis - 1
Eucera - 7
Florilegus - 1
Melissodes – 27
Triepeolus - 23
Epeolus - 20
Melitoma - 1
Svastra - 5
Tetraloniella - 2
Xeromelecta - 2

Anthophora
Large, bumblebee in size, shape, and often coloration, can be found from Spring through Fall
Lacks the bare patch (corbicula) found on the tibia of Bombus females
Often nests in aggregations in the ground, in banks of dirt, or earthen homes
Interior cells of the forewing without the abundant small hairs common in most of the other large species (except Habropoda and Melecta ). These hairs most readily visible by sighting across the plane of the wing
Told from Habropoda by the shape of the marginal and submarginal cells
A recently introduced European species, Anthophora plumipes , expected to spread widely
Similar genera: Melecta, Xeromelecta, Florilegus, Tetraloniella, Melissodes, Svastra, Peponapis, Melitoma, Eucera

Anthophora - 6

Melecta
About the size of a medium bumblebee and similar in aspect
Rare nest parasite of Anthophora
Marginal cell unusually short, its length only about as long as the end of the marginal cells
Similar to Anthophora in that it has no minute hairs on the surface of the front wing’s interior cells
Female has no pollen carrying hairs
Similar genera: Xeromelecta, Anthophora, Tetraloniella, Svastra, Eucera, Melissodes, Melitoma, Florilegus, Peponapis, Xenoglossa, Cemolobus

Melecta pacifica – Parasite of Anthophora Rare

Habropoda
Uncommon, the size of small bumblebee, prefers ericaceous shrubs
Usually associated with sandy areas
Female looks very bumblebee like, male has bright yellow/ivory facial markings
Like Anthophora and Melecta the interior of the front wing’s cells are nearly hairless
Shape of the wing cells separates this species from Anthophora
Similar genera: Anthophora

Habropoda laboriosa

Holcopasites
Uncommon to rare nest parasite of Calliopsis , tiny, just a few millimeters long
The only genus where the male has 12 not the usual 13 antennal segments
Abdomens are red with bright white patches of very short, prone hair, often in small regular patches
Note that the tip of the marginal cell is clearly pulled away from the margin of the wing
Similar genera: None

Holcopasites – 3 Tiny, Overlooked, Male antennae = 12

Neolarra
Very rare (no specimens seen recently in the East), nest parasite of Perdita
Only genus with 1 submarginal cell
Sometimes small members of the closely related (to bees) Sphecid wasp genus Oxybelus are mistaken for this genus
An effort should be made to look for this species in Perdita areas

Neolarra – Perdita Parasite - 1 Super small, super rare, 1 submarginal cell

Nomada
Common, nest parasite of Andrena and a few other genera, almost always some striking pattern of yellow, red, and black
Most species are found in the spring but a few are found in the Summer and Fall
Often mistaken for wasps due to the general lack of hair and thin wasp-like appearance
Many species are in taxonomic limbo with unassociated males and females, poor descriptions, and recent molecular work indicating that there are more species present in the bidentate and white-spined groups than there are currently names…expect quite a number of changes over the coming few years
Jugal lobe unusually short only one-sixth the size of the vannal lobe or less
Similar genera: Sphecodes

Nomada – Andrena Parasite - 80 Common, Wasp-like, lots of red or yellow usually present

Centris
Size of small bumblebees, restricted to Florida, native species are uncommon to rare, an introduced species is becoming common in South Florida
Females are pollen specialists on only a few plant genera
Both the males and females have very robust rear legs, covered in thick hair
Wing venation important, note the very small stigma and the shape of the submarginal cells
Similar genera: Bombus, Ptilothrix, Xylocopa

Centris - 3 - Go to Florida

Ericrocis
Extremely rare, restricted to Florida, no recent specimen records, nest parasite of Centris
A dramatic looking bee, most similar to Xeromelecta , has prominent patches of light hair on the abdomen and thorax and a distinctly pointed rear of the abdomen
Instead of the usual pointed tibial spur on the middle leg found on most bees, their tibial spurs are slightly broadened at the tip which is notched or has small spines
An effort should be made to see if this species still exists in Florida
Similar genera: Epeolus, Triepolus, Epeoloides

Ericrocis lata – Centris parasite Florida species, very rare

Ptilothrix
Common early to mid-Summer species, most often found along marsh edge habitats and urban areas (where garden plants in the mallow family have been planted)
Pollen specialist on Hibiscus , size of a medium bumblebee, to which it closely resembles and is mistaken for
Has no arolium (pad) between its tarsal claws
Similar genera: Bombus, Xylocopa

Ptilothrix bombiformis

Cemolobus
Rare, size of a medium bumblebee
Unique in that the rim of the clypeus is not smooth but has three lobes, the central one wide and thick, the lateral ones more knob-like. The other Eucerines have uninterrupted clypeal rims
Pollen specialist on morning glories ( Ipomoea )
Similar genera: Melitoma, Anthophora, Eucera, Melissodes, Tetraloniella, Melecta, Xeromelecta, Peponapis, Svastra, Florilegus

Cemolobus ipomoeae – Morning Glory Specialist Rare, Size of Eucera, Looks like that group too

Melitoma
Regularly occurring species, but nowhere abundant, a bit larger than a honeybee
Hind wing venation is used to separate this genus in the guides, but the combination of the distinctive coloration and hair patterns along with the extremely long tongue (extending to the abdomen even when folded) works
Similar genera: Melecta, Xeromelecta, Anthophora, Xenoglossa, Peponapis, Florilegus, Melissodes, Eucera, Svastra, Tetraloniella, Cemolobus

Melitoma taurea – Morning Glory Specialist Tongue extends to abdomen, even when folded

Xylocopa
Common, the size of large bumblebees
Told from bumblebees in the field by the combination of all black abdomen ( X. virginica has sparse but uniform yellow hairs at the base of the abdomen) and that those hairs present on the abdomen are sparse enough to clearly see the shining integument (skin) below
Males with a white spot on their face, females dark
When resting hold their wings splayed some to the sides (resembling swept-back jet fighter wings), not neatly overlapped down the back like bumblebees
Under the microscope the unusually long and narrow marginal cell is distinctive
Similar genera: Bombus, Ptilothrix

Xylocopa - 2 – Carpenter Bees

Ceratina
Size of a single long-grain rice kernel
Dark metallic blue (often appearing black) with a prominent white mark on the clypeus
Skinny, lacks obvious hair, abdomen parallel-sided and ribbed like a plastic water bottle
Tip of abdomen with a small projecting point
Often holds its abdomen more upright than other genera
Easier to tell by learning the general shape and coloration of the clypeus than keying out
Similar genera: None, although many Osmia are about the same color

Ceratina - 4 Small Carpenter Bee Very Common, pith nester

Euglossa
One introduced species that is becoming common in certain parts of southern Florida
Bright green, lacks the wing venation of the other bright green bees in the area (all halictids)
Has extremely long tongue and rear legs with prominent projecting flanges

Euglossa viridissima Recent introduction into Florida

Epeoloides
Extremely rare, however there are recent records from Connecticut and the Maritimes
A little bit smaller than a honeybee
Nest parasite of Macropis
Different looking than other bees, but should key out easily
Similar genera: Triepeolus, Epeolus, Ericrocis

Epeoloides pilosula – Parasite of Macropis Very rare, endangered?

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?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KCNP&Product_Code=BGNA&Category_Code=BL

http://www.beewatchers.com	208
http://beewatchers.com	58
http://www.slideshare.net	42
http://beespotter.mste.illinois.edu	22
http://beespotter.mste.uiuc.edu	20
http://agriamelissa.blogspot.com	9

Guide to the Bee Genera within Apidae of Eastern North America, Part 1

by Sam Droege on Jan 27, 2009

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Guide to the Bee Genera within Apidae of Eastern North America, Part 1 Presentation Transcript