| Colletes cunicularius | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Colletidae |
| Genus: | Colletes |
| Species: | C. cunicularius |
| Binomial name | |
| Colletes cunicularius (Linnaeus,1761) | |
Colletes cunicularius, the vernal colletes [2] or spring mining bee, is a species of solitary bee from the family Colletidae which is widespread in the Palearctic from Britain to the Pacific Ocean which nests in areas of open, sandy soil.
Colletes cinicularius is a large species of Colletes which has an unbanded, hairy, black abdomen which contrasts with the thorax which is covered with brown hair. The most likely confusion species in Britain is Andrena scotica as this also has an early flight period but C. cunicularius is larger than A.scotica with longer antennae and does not have a fovea on the face. The males are smaller and paler than the females. [3]
Colletes cunicularius is widespread in the Palearactic from Great Britain in the west to the Pacific coasts of Siberia and China in the east. [1] In Great Britain it was restricted to the western coastal areas between south Wales and Cumbria but it has been expanding its range inland. As of 2015 [update] it had recently colonised Jersey from the nearby continent and this may also be the source of Colletes cunicularius which have begun to breed in southern England. [3]
Colletes cunicularius is a species associated with sparsely vegetated sandy areas, in Britain it was associated with large, mature coastal sand dunes which were near to areas where creeping willow ( Salix repens ) grows. [4] Bees from Europe tended to be associated with alluvial area where rivers in flood has removed most of the vegetation and in both Britain and Europe this species has colonised man-made habitats such as sand pits. [1] The British population was restricted to areas of dunes where it nests in erosion hollows within old dunes. [5] It is univoltine, i.e. there is one generation per year, and it has a flight period of March to May, sometimes into June, which is earlier than most other species of Colletes. [4]
C. cunicularius forages from a wide variety of flowers but in Great Britain, the most important is creeping willow with other species of Salix being used if creeping willow is not present. [3] Elsewhere it is much more catholic in the plants it forages from, although in Finland it has also been reported as mainly specialising on willows while in Italy at was recorded as specialising in pollinating species in the family Fabaceae. The male C. cunicularius are the only species which pollinate two species of sexually deceptive orchids which mimic females bees Ophrys exaltata and Ophrys arachntiiformis , [4] although they have been recorded as attempting to pseudocopulating with other species in the genus Ophrys . [6]
To create the nest the female excavates a tunnel into the sand of around 45–55 centimetres (18–22 in) in length which is slightly sloping and has a number of side tunnels towards the deepest part of the tunnel each with a cell at the end. The adult males emerge from the upper cells en masse a day before the females, normally in the afternoon. The brood cells are lined with a cellophane-like membrane that is waterproof, has antifungal properties, and is thought to aid in the maintenance of the appropriate level of humidity as the bee's larvae develop. The membrane is made from a liquid secreted by the Dufour's gland and the female bee uses her short, two-pronged tongue like a paintbrush to smear the oily secretion around the walls of the cells, it then dries into the clear membrane. [4] The females often nest together in large, and noisy, aggregations and when the females first emerge from their cells "mating balls" can be formed as many males try to mate with a single newly emerged female. [3]
In Britain this species has no known parasites but on continental Europe the cuckoo bee Sphecodes albilabris is a cleptoparasite of this species. [4] and the blister beetle Apalus bimaculatus is also recorded as a nest parasite. [7]
The population of C. cunicularius in western Britain is morphologically and biologically distinct from the continental populations and have been given subspecific status as C. c. celticus. [8] The chemistry of the secretions of the Dufour's gland have also now been shown to be distinctive in the British subspecies too. [4]
Colletes inaequalis is a common species of plasterer bee, native to North America. Like other species in the genus, it builds cells in underground nests that are lined with a polyester secretion, earning the genus the nickname of polyester bees. C. inaequalis is a pollinator of red maple trees, willow trees, and apple trees.
Philanthus triangulum, commonly known as the European beewolf, bee-killer wasp or the bee-eating philanthus, is a solitary wasp that lives in the Western Palearctic and Afrotropics. Although the adults of the species are herbivores, the species derives its name from the behaviour of the inseminated females, who hunt Western honey bees. The female places several of its paralysed prey together with an egg in a small underground chamber, to serve as food for the wasp larvae. All members of the genus Philanthus hunt various species of bees, but P. triangulum is apparently the only one that specialises in Western honey bees.
The Colletidae are a family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees or polyester bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with secretions applied with their mouthparts; these secretions dry into a cellophane-like lining. The five subfamilies, 54 genera, and over 2000 species are all evidently solitary, though many nest in aggregations. Two of the subfamilies, Euryglossinae and Hylaeinae, lack the external pollen-carrying apparatus that otherwise characterizes most bees, and instead carry the pollen in their crops. These groups, and most genera in this family, have liquid or semiliquid pollen masses on which the larvae develop.
The genus Colletes is a large group of ground-nesting bees of the family Colletidae. They occur primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. They tend to be solitary, but sometimes nest close together in aggregations. Species in the genus build cells in underground nests that are lined with a cellophane-like plastic secretion, a true polyester, earning them the nickname polyester bees.
The northern colletes is a species of bee within the genus Colletes. Northern colletes are solitary bees, though females may nest in what are termed aggregations – sites where the bees nest close together, but do not form colonies as social bees do. They nest underground in soft soil, digging burrows up to 20 times their body length. It is often to be found nesting in coastal sand dunes and, on Hebridean islands, machair.
Xylocopa sonorina, the valley carpenter bee or Hawaiian carpenter bee, is a species of carpenter bee found from western Texas to northern California, and the eastern Pacific islands. Females are black while males are golden-brown with green eyes.
Colletes hederae, the ivy bee, is a species of plasterer bee belonging to the family Colletidae subfamily Colletinae.
Eucera is a genus of bees in the family Apidae, subfamily Apinae, and tribe Eucerini – the long-horned bees.
Colletes halophilus, the sea aster mining bee, is a rare species of mining bee from the family Colletidae which is found around the margins of saltmarsh and other coastal habitats in south-eastern England and north-western Europe. It is threatened by rising sea levels and human development which reduce its food plant sea aster and destroy its nesting areas.
Colletes succinctus, the common colletes or heather colletes, is a species of Palearctic mining bee from the family Colletidae. It is part of the succinctus species group within the genus Colletes and is especially closely related to the ivy bee and the sea aster mining bee which are partially sympatric with C. succinctus but ecologically separate.
Epeolus cruciger, the red-thighed epeolus, is a species of cuckoo bee from the family Apidae. It is endemic to Europe, where its main host is the common colletes, although other species of Colletes mining bees have been recorded as hosts.
Andrena scotica, the chocolate mining bee or hawthorn bee, is a species of mining bee from the family Andrenidae. It occurs in western Europe and is one of the most frequently encountered mining bees found in Great Britain, where it had been previously misidentified as Andrena carantonica.
Andrena trimmerana, Trimmer's mining bee, is a species of mining bee from the family Andrenidae. It occurs in the western Palearctic but its true status in some areas is muddled due to issues of taxonomy and misidentification.
Salix repens, the creeping willow, is a small, shrubby species of willow in the family Salicaceae, growing up to 1.5 metres in height. Found amongst sand dunes and heathlands, it is a polymorphic species, with a wide range of variants. In the UK, at least, these range from small, prostrate, hairless plants at one end of the spectrum to taller, erect or ascending silky-leaved shrubs at the other. This wide variation in form has resulted in numerous synonyms.
Eucera longicornis is a species of bee in the family Apidae, subfamily Apinae, and tribe Eucerini, the long-horned bees.
Stenoria analis, the ivy bee blister beetle, is a species of blister beetle from the family Meloidae which is found in western Europe and North Africa and is a specialst cleptoparasite of the ivy bee larvae. Its occurrence in regions outside of the known range of the ivy bee, for example in North Africa, suggest that it has other hosts.
Colletes validus, colloquially known as the blueberry cellophane bee, is a solitary, specialist bee in the family Colletidae. It is found primarily in eastern North America where it nests in sandy soils near ericaceous plants.
Andrena bicolor, or Gwynne's mining bee, is a common and widespread Western Palearctic mining bee which is found over most of Europe as well as North Africa and the Middle East and which reaches eastwards into Siberia.
Apalus bimaculatus, the early blister beetle, is a species of blister beetle from the family Meloidae. It is the type species of the genus Apalus.
Colletes similis is a species of plasterer bee belonging to the family Colletidae, subfamily Colletinae.
