Favoritos de ecogeekmama

This is a female Hylaeus (masked bee), measuring 7.25 mm, found on Pyracantha.

This is a largely black bee, with a partly-red abdomen, and yellow markings on the face, pronotal collar and pronotal lobes. The bee’s tibae, basitarsi and tarsi are mostly orange, with some yellow on the upper/basal hind tibiae. The apical (rear) half of each of the bee's forewings is dark. ABDOMEN: The bee’s abdomen is glassy and mostly black. These parts of the abdomen are red: the first segment (T1 and S1); and the basal 2/3 of the second segment (T2 and S2). Most of the remaining abdomen is black, except for narrow red areas at the bases of S3-S5; and a small central area of S6.

This female was found on the same Pyracantha bush as the male shown here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/205272909

This 10 mm male Nomada fervida was found feeding on mint flowers in a Gainesville garden on July 3, 2024. This is a black bee with a bright yellow facial mask, red legs, and a thorax and abdomen adorned with yellow, orange and red markings. Nomada fervida is usually associated with sandy habitats. Its host is unknown, although some sources suggest it may be Agapostemon splendens. An excellent description of this species and summary of available Nomada fervida research can be found at this University of Florida entomology page: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/nomada_fervida.htm

Traits that help ID male Nomada fervida found in Florida are: (1) The scutellum (the second segment of the thorax) is covered by a large yellow marking, often with reddish-orange edges and a reddish-orange area in the center; on the segment behind this is a yellow bar-shaped marking tinged with red-orange. (2) The propodeum (located two segments behind the scutellum) is entirely black, without markings. (3) The abdomen’s first segment (T1) has a wide reddish band with a yellow rear edge. The second segment (T2) has a wide yellow band, sometimes tinged with orange or rust-red on its front edge. Colors of the remaining segments can vary -- T3-T5 may be entirely black, mostly yellow or – as on the bee here -- black with small yellow markings.

This species is found both in the Great Lakes area and in the Deep South. Nomada specimens in Florida and the south tend to have more orange or reddish markings than their northern counterparts (whose markings tend to be yellow).

Hal Scott Preserve, Orange County, FL, June 2013.
According to following reference, these bees use resin to glue materials together to make their nests: entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/hallg/melitto/floridabees/dianthi...