masked bees
(Hylaeus spp.)
Overview • Description • Distribution • Taxonomy
Overview |
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Hylaeus is a species of small bees known as yellow-faced bees or masked bees. There are 739 Hylaeus species worldwide, 51 species in North America north of Mexico, and at least 12 species in Minnesota. Adults feed on flower pollen and nectar. Many species are probably host species specialists. |
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Description |
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Hylaeus are small, slender bees. Adults are 3 ⁄16″ to ¼″ (5 to 7 mm) in length. They are mostly black with white or yellow markings on their faces and legs. They have very little hair and no pollen-collecting hairs (scopa). In these respects they look more like wasps than bees. |
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Distribution |
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| 9/3/2023 | ||||
Taxonomy |
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Order |
Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies) | ||
Suborder |
Apocrita (narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees) | ||
Infraorder |
Aculeata (ants, bees, and stinging wasps) | ||
Superfamily |
Apoidea (bees and apoid wasps) | ||
| Epifamily | Anthophila (bees) | ||
Family |
Colletidae (plasterer bees) | ||
Subfamily |
Hylaeinae | ||
This genus was previously classified as Prosopis. The genus was revised and split into six subgenera, including a new subgenus Prosopis. |
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Subordinate Taxa |
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annulate masked bee (Hylaeus annulatus) cinquefoil yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus basalis) eastern yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus affinis) Florida masked bee (Hylaeus floridanus) Mesilla yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus mesillae) modest masked bee (Hylaeus modestus modestus) rudbeckia yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus rudbeckiae) sanicle yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus saniculae) slender-faced yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus leptocephalus) vertical yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus verticalis) yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus fedorica) |
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Synonyms |
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Calloprosopis Pharohylaeus Prosopis |
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Common Names |
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masked bees yellow-faced bees |
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The common name “yellow-faced bees” is a misnomer. All species have markings on the face, but on many species the markings are white. |
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Glossary
Scopa
A brush-like tuft of hairs on the legs or underside of the abdomen of a bee used to collect pollen.
Visitor Photos |
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Alfredo Colon |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Visitor Videos |
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Other Videos |
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| Mating behavior of Masked Bee Hylaeus Karl Foord |
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About
Published on Oct 21, 2016 |
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| Yellow-faced bees (Hylaeus) on naupaka kahakai Kimberley Greeson |
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About
Published on Mar 7, 2017 |
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| Native bee species now protected under Endangered Species Act KHON2 News |
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About
Published on Sep 30, 2016 Seven yellow-faced bee species are now under protection, a first for any bees in the nation. |
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Visitor Sightings |
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Report a sighting of this insect. |
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| This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location. |
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| Alfredo Colon 8/24/2022 |
Location: Albany, NY |
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| Alfredo Colon 6/8/2018 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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Created 8/28/2018
Last Updated: