Common Long-Horned Bee (Melissodes communis)
Female Common long-horned bees build underground burrows where they nest. Males, shown in this photo, use broken stems or parts of plants to sleep at night. In this case, they are using the remains of a blanket flower (Gaillardia pulchella).
The bee on the far left can be seen curling his body on top of the stem, almost giving the seed head appearance. Before they sleep, you may observe the bees grooming, sometimes even doing handstands or other impressive movements as they clean all their little legs. Other times you may see them ramming each other to gain access to a branch.
While they may seem aggressive, the males typically are not bothered by the company of humans. This group wasn’t even phased by the camera lens less than a foot from them. Females, while a bit more agitated by human presence, rarely demonstrate aggression.
These busy little bees love a variety of flowering native plants, including and members of the Asteraceae family, dotted horsemint, tropical salvia, beautyberry, and wild coffee.
Do you have a favorite type of native bee? Let us know in the comments and share this post with your friends so they can learn more about this adorable species of native bees.
