Eucera / long-horned Bee
Male Eucera lunata (Timberlake) drinking nectar from Manzanita flowers. © Rollin Coville
Eucera male on Manzanita flowers. © Celeste Ets-Hokin
Female Eucera (Synhalonia) frater albopilosa. © Rollin Coville
Male Eucera lunata (Timberlake) drinking nectar from Manzanita flowers. © Rollin Coville
Family: Apidae
Genus: Eucera
Common Name: Long-Horned Bee
APPEARANCE
Physical Appearance
Eucera species are generally distinguished by a covering of dense pale brown hair on their head and thorax. Their abdomens are usually dark, sometimes with pale bands of light hair. They sometimes have yellow hairs on their face, which appear more distinct in the males of some species.
The female carries pollen in a brush of specialized hairs, called a scopa, on each hind leg.
Like other members of the tribe Eurcerini (which include Svastra and Melissodes), Eucerini males have extremely long antennae; hence the common name, “long-horned bee”.
Characteristics
Eucera species are generalist foragers
Size
Small to medium size bees, 1/2 to 3/4 inch in length
HABITS
Distribution
Eucera species are found coast to coast and widely distributed throughout the United States and Canada.
Number of species in North America
Approximately 120
Emergence Time
Spring, summer, depending upon species
Nesting Habit
Eucera species are mostly solitary ground-nesting bees. Each female creates and provisions her own brood cells. She lines the walls of the cells with a waxy, waterproof substance, secreted from her body.
Pollinated Garden Crops Include
Blueberry
Additional Flowers Visited in Natural Areas
Parkinsonia (paloverde, Jerusalem thorn)
