Common Bees of Eastern North America

289 Pages·2021·163.397 MB·English

by  Olivia Messinger Carril, Joseph S. Wilson

Common Bees of
Eastern North
America
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Common Bees of
Eastern North
America
Olivia Messinger Carril
and Joseph S. Wilson
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Common Bees of
Eastern North
America
Olivia Messinger Carril
and Joseph S. Wilson
Princeton University Press
Princeton and Oxford
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Copyright © 2021 by Olivia Messinger Carril and Joseph S. Wilson
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work
should be sent to [email protected]
Published by Princeton University Press
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TR
press.princeton.edu
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Messinger Carril, Olivia, 1976– author. | Wilson, Joseph S., author.
Title: Common bees of eastern North America / Olivia Messinger Carril, Joseph
S. Wilson.
Description: Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2021] | Series: Princeton field
guides | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020046594 (print) | LCCN 2020046595 (ebook) | ISBN
9780691175492 (paperback) | ISBN 9780691218694 (hardback) | ISBN
9780691222806 (pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Bees—East (U.S.)—Identification. | Bees—Canada, Eastern—
Identification.
Classification: LCC QL567.1.A1 C36 2021 (print) | LCC QL567.1.A1 (ebook) | DDC
595.79/9097—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020046594
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020046595
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
Editorial: Robert Kirk and Abigail Johnson
Production Editorial: Karen Carter
Text Design: D & N Publishing, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Jacket/Cover Design: Ruthie Rosenstock
Production: Steven Sears
Publicity: Matthew Taylor and Caitlyn Robson
Copyeditor: Lucinda Treadwell
Jacket/Cover Credit: Cover image by Joseph S. Wilson
This book has been composed in Scala Pro (main text) and Scala Sans Pro (headings
and labels)
Printed on acid-free paper. ∞
Printed in China
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Dedications
Olivia
To my teachers, who built for me a foundation from
which to see the bigger picture. Who shared the joy of getting lost in
the details. Who pushed me to try and dared me to fail. The ones who
showed me how to learn. And inspired me to teach.
Joe
To Lindsey, who first introduced me to the fascinating
and complex world of bees.
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Bee to the blossom,
moth to the flame;
Each to his passion;
what’s in a name?
—HELEN HUNT JACKSON
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CONTENTS
Introduction 9 Panurginae 94
A Quick Reference Guide to Bees Calliopsis 94
of Eastern North America 24
Panurginus 96
Halictidae 30
Perdita 98
Augochlorini 32
Pseudopanurgus 101
Augochlora 32
Melittidae 103
Augochlorella 34
Hesperapis 104
Augochloropsis 36
Macropis 105
Halictini 38
Melitta 107
Agapostemon 38
Megachilidae 109
Halictus 44
Osmiini 112
Lasioglossum 53
Ashmeadiella 112
Sphecodes 58
Chelostoma 114
Nomiinae 60
Heriades 116
Dieunomia 60
Hoplitis 118
Nomia 62
Osmia 123
Rhophitinae 63
Megachilini 130
Dufourea 63
Coelioxys 130
Colletidae 66
Megachile 132
Colletes 67
Anthidiini 140
Hylaeus 74
Anthidiellum 140
Andrenidae 80
Anthidium 143
Andreninae 82
Dianthidium 148
Andrena 82
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Paranthidium 151 Anthophora 192
Stelis 153 Habropoda 196
Trachusa 155 Centris 198
Lithurgini 156 Euglossa 200
Lithurgopsis 156 Bombus 202
Apidae 159 Apis 215
Xylocopinae 162 Nomadinae 218
Xylocopa 162 Nomada 218
Ceratina 165 Epeolus 222
Apinae 169 Triepeolus 224
Diadasia 169 Holcopasites 227
Melitoma 171
A Key to Bee Genera in Eastern
Ptilothrix 173 North America 229
Eucera 175 Glossary 260
Florilegus 182 References 267
Melissodes 184 Index 281
Svastra 190
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9
INTRODUCTION
Though they are miniscule across a large landscape, bees are essential pollinators
throughout a wide range of ecosystems—from the fields of opportunistic weeds we see
in abandoned urban lots, to cultivated and tended botanic gardens, to the wildflowers
that flourish in uninhabited and remote open spaces. When we think about the busy
bees, most of us picture the non-native honey bee (an introduced labor force from
farms and fields overseas), but the honey bee represents the smallest fraction of North
America’s hard-working pollinators. The most effective pollinators are native bees—
those that evolved in concert with the natural ecosystems of this continent. North
America’s native bees are diverse, widespread, and beautiful. While many species
are rarely encountered, a handful are abundant and commonly seen in natural and
urban settings alike. Identifying these diminutive flower visitors can be difficult even
for the trained professional, yet knowing what species of bees make up a community
can reveal a varied and highly connected network of individuals working together—
sharing, and yet competing for floral resources.
There are an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 bee species on the planet. Around 20,000
of these species have been named and described. While bees have now been documented
in every country, there are many ecosystems and habitats that have not been thoroughly
sampled; in these areas the potential for discovering new species is high. In the U.S.
and Canada there are somewhere between 3,500 and 4,000 species; conservatively then,
10% to 18% of the world’s bees occur in these two countries. Species, as a taxonomic
unit, are grouped together into genera according to morphological characteristics they
have in common. There are about 111 genera in North America (north of Mexico), with
65 east of the Mississippi River. In the East, the 65 genera comprise 770 species. This
guidebook is an introduction to some of the most frequently seen species in the eastern
regions of North America, focusing on habitats east of the Mississippi River. Although
it does not cover all 770 species, our hope is that it will provide the bee enthusiast
with a tool to aid in the discovery of the rich bee fauna that exists all around us—a
community of energetic insects visiting the flowers in our gardens and facilitating
their transformation from blossoms to fruits and vegetables, and seeds.
IS THIS A BEE?
While bees are common across most landscapes, differentiating between a bee and
something else is devilishly difficult when watching an insect in flight. This difficulty
is due, in large part, to two facts: (1) Bees and wasps are close relatives and still share
many genes, which results in many structural similarities in how they look, and (2)
many other kinds of insects have evolved to resemble bees in order to fool potential
predators into thinking they are able to sting.
Bees and certain groups of wasps in particular can be tricky to distinguish.
Generally, wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets (both of which are kinds of wasps) have
less hair, have a slimmer waist, and have more slender legs with spines on them. Bees,
in contrast, usually have more hair, a thicker waist, and stouter, shorter legs; most also
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