''Hesperapis regularis'' is an
oligolectic
The term oligolecty is used in pollination ecology to refer to bees that exhibit a narrow, specialized preference for pollen sources, typically to a single family or genus of flowering plants. The preference may occasionally extend broadly to mult ...
bee
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...
in the family
Melittidae.
Distribution
This bee is native to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and inhabits meadows, fields, and gardens, where it visits only flowers in the genus ''
Clarkia''. Numerous native species of ''Clarkia'' are found in
California chaparral and woodlands
The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...
, montane, and valley habitats.
Description
The bees eat nectar, but their larvae feed upon a mass composed of both nectar and ''
Clarkia'' pollen, placed in chambers underground.
[MacSwain, Raven & Thorp. 1973. Calif. Univ. Pubs. Ent. 70: 16-20.]
See also
*
References
Melittidae
Fauna of California
Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands
Insects of the United States
Hymenoptera of North America
Taxa named by Ezra Townsend Cresson
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