Andrenidae Colletidae Melittidae: A Guide To Their Identification in Eastern North America

Andrenidae
Colletidae
Melittidae
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 Colletidae
• Andrena • Caupolicana
• Calliopsis • Colletes
• Panurginus • Hylaeus
• Perdita
• Protandrena Melittidae
• Pseudopanurgus • 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
• 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
• The first recurrent vein usually joins or
nearly joins the first transcubital vein
Caupolicana - 2
Deep 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
• Specieslists, Identification Guides, andMapsfor genera
andspeciesareavailableat:
http://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?search=Apoidea
• A guidetothegeneraof thebeesof Canadaisavailableat:
http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/ejournal/pgs_03/pgs_03.h
• 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

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Andrenidae

Small, C. andreniformis Common in Highly Disturbed Areas

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