The Sonoran Desert is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States. It is the hottest desert in both Mexico and the United States. It has an area of 260,000 square kilometers (100,000 sq mi).
Opuntia engelmannii is a prickly pear common across the south-central and Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It goes by a variety of common names, including desert prickly pear, discus prickly pear, Engelmann's prickly pear in the US, and nopal, abrojo, joconostle, and vela de coyote in Mexico.
Ferocactus wislizeni, the fishhook barrel cactus, also called Arizona barrel cactus, candy barrel cactus, and Southwestern barrel cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, native to northern Mexico and the southern United States. It is a ball-shaped cactus eventually growing to a cylindrical shape, with spiny ribs and red or yellow flowers in summer.
The saguaro is a tree-like cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea that can grow to be over 12 meters tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains and Imperial County areas of California. The saguaro blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona. Its scientific name is given in honor of Andrew Carnegie. In 1994, Saguaro National Park, near Tucson, Arizona, was designated to help protect this species and its habitat.
Diadasia is a genus of bees in family Apidae. Species of Diadasia are oligolectic, specialized on a relatively small number of plant species.
Macrotera is a genus of bees native to North America, particularly diverse in the desert regions of the United States and Mexico. According to Wilson and Carril, there are "around 30" species of Macrotera. Macrotera are small to medium sized and often black or reddish in coloration. The genus was treated by P.H. Timberlake who, in addition to T.D.A. Cockerell, described most of the known species. Macrotera used to be considered part of the genus Perdita but was split apart by C.D. Michener in 2000. Most species are extreme specialists (oligoleges) with respect to pollen and will only collect pollen from a few closely related species or genera of plants, particularly the plant genus Sphaeralcea and various Cactaceae.
Xenoglossa is a genus of large squash bees in the family Apidae. There are about 11 described species in Xenoglossa.
Calliopsis puellae is a species of bee in the family Andrenidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Diadasia enavata, the sunflower chimney bee, is a species of chimney bee in the family Apidae. It is found in Central America and North America. It is a pollinator restricted to plants of the Asteraceae family. It has been observed pollinating Coreopsis tinctoria.
Xylocopa tabaniformis, the horsefly-like carpenter bee or mountain carpenter bee is a species of carpenter bee in the family Apidae. It is found in Central America, North America, and South America. It is 12–18 millimetres long and black. Males have yellow hair on the thorax.
Perdita sexmaculata is a species of bee in the family Andrenidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Protosmia rubifloris is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Dieunomia nevadensis, the Nevada nomia, is a species of sweat bee in the family Halictidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Hylaeus mesillae is a species of hymenopteran in the family Colletidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Perdita gerhardi is a species of bee in the family Andrenidae. It is found in North America.
Calliopsis hesperia is a species of bee in the family Andrenidae. It is found in North America.
Dianthidium curvatum is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. It is found in North America.
The shiny green miner bee is a species of miner bee in the family Andrenidae. Another common name for this species is the white-winged perdita. It is found in Central America and North America.
Svastra obliqua, the sunflower bee, is a species of long-horned bee in the family Apidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Andrena jessicae is a species of mining bee in the family Andrenidae. It is found in Central America and North America. This species is named after Jessie E. Casad, a co-author of Cockerell.
