''Euherbstia'' is a genus of
mining bees in the family
Andrenidae
The Andrenidae (commonly known as mining bees) are a large, nearly cosmopolitan family of solitary, ground-nesting bees. Most of the family's diversity is located in temperate or arid areas (warm temperate xeric). It includes some enormous gene ...
.
The only species in this genus is ''Euherbstia excellens'', which is endemic to
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
.
These bees have been observed to make nests in hard, compact soil, using cracks to enter the ground below.
Females will make solitary nests.
The female seeks out cracks in the ground, in which she digs a tunnel down to make her nest.
She will repeatedly thump the walls of the tunnel with her
abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...
, to make them more compact.
Like all mining bees, they will create cells which they fill with pollen and eggs, closing them off until the larvae pupate and emerge the next year.
Some larvae hibernate in a pupated state up to 2 years.
This is probably because these bees live in an arid climate, where it is uncertain whether it will rain enough in a year to sustain the plants they need for food.
As one generation of emerging adults might die because of drought, the next generation might survive, giving the species more chance of survival.
The name ''Euherbstia'', (From ''Herbst,'' German
) is a reference to the activity of these bees, which is in the months of October and November.
Males, and females that have yet to build a nest, sleep overnight in convenient cracks in the soil.
Foraging activity peaks around midday.
No
cuckoo bee
The term cuckoo bee is used for a variety of different bee lineages which have evolved the kleptoparasitism, kleptoparasitic behaviour of laying their eggs in the nests of other bees, reminiscent of the behavior of cuckoo birds. The name is perhap ...
species seem to target the nests of ''Euherbstia''.
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18099264
Andreninae
Monotypic bee genera
Endemic fauna of Chile