''Calliopsis'' is a genus of panurgine bees in the family Andrenidae. There are over 80 described species distributed throughout the western hemisphere.

Description

''Calliopsis'' have yellow and black stripes, long legs and dark wings. Instead of having a long head like other bees, ''Calliopsis s heads are quite broad. Male ''Calliopsis'' have broad yellow stripes on their head, while females have narrow yellow stripes. The bees also have very distinctive long narrow wings and extra hairy thoraxes. ''Calliopsis andreniformis'' bees have green eyes, and males of the species have bright yellow faces and legs.

Behavior

Since ''Calliopsis'' has many different species, a lot of bees behave differently in different region. For example, ''Calliopsis hondurasicus'' become active at the start of the dry season in mid- to late-December, and activity ends in late January or early February. Males patrol areas where females emerge and later nest, and they defend territories to which they return repeatedly. Male-male contests involve a rapid spiraling-upward flight, often followed by physical aggression after the pair tumbles to the ground.

Diet

''Calliopsis,'' like other bees, use their vision to locate food. They gather

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

and

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

from flowers. Most bees are vegetarian (but see

vulture bee Vulture bees, also known as carrion bees, are a small group of three closely related South American stingless bee species in the genus ''Trigona'' which feed on rotting meat. Vulture bees produce a honey-like substance which is not derived from ...

Mating

Male ''Calliopsis'' fly close to the ground and many of them copulate with a single female. Mating takes place on flowers and at nest sites. ''Calliopsis'' also are univoltine, which means they only have one brood of offspring a year. Unlike the meiosis-based sex determination mechanisms of many animals, sex determination in

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order (biology), order of insects, comprising the sawfly, sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are Par ...

is clearly under control of the female through selective fertilization of eggs.

Nesting

Nearly all female ''Calliopsis'' are solitary nesters, but they dig nests within aggregations near other females. Nests are built in the form of horizontal tunnels connected to waterproofed chambers containing eggs and provisions stored by the mother bee. Each female of this genus digs a solitary underground nest, usually in compacted, dense soil and close to flowering plants that serve as food sources. ''Calliopsis'' nesting aggregations can be as dense as 1,650 nests/m^2. The nest tunnels measure 7.5 mm maximum diameter and 13 mm long. ''Calliopsis'' bees build their nest the way they do to mitigate competition between males. Their nest is built for waterproof hazards to keep the soil dry until the ground evaporates. Although reported in a few other bee groups, ''Calliopsis'' are unusual in including aquatic nesters: ''Calliopsis pugionis'' emerged from nests that had been underwater for at least 3 months.

Species

These 88 species belong to the genus ''Calliopsis''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14491786 Andrenidae Bee genera