Fascinating Insects: Small Black Bee (Hoplitis)

This small black bee (hoplitis) belongs to Megachilidae, a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees whose pollen-carrying structure (called a scopa) is restricted to the ventral surface of the abdomen (rather than mostly or exclusively on the hind legs as in other bee families). It has a dark color with hairy strips all over its back. I got to buy some times till it stopped on a pink flower, a regular spot to visit. Once I hit this area, I straightly noticed a few bees flying around, some were moving quite a lot which made me barely catch them up but this bee seemed a little quiet on a flower which allowed me to possibly take a couple of shots of this fascinating bee.

Hoplitis range in body length from 3–18 mm and range in body form from slender and elongate to robust (Michener 2007). Hoplitis are generally nonmetallic, apart from a few common North American species which can be vibrantly metallic green (Michener 2007).

.