''Hylaeus assimulans'' is a species of

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 ...

, also known by the common name Assimulans yellow-faced bee. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and known from only five populations. In September 2016, along with six other Hawaiian ''Hylaeus'' species, ''H. assimulans'' was listed for protection under the United States

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

. This marked a first listing for any bee species in the US.

Description

''Hylaeus assimulans'' is relatively large when compared with other coastal ''Hylaeus'' species. Its wings are smoky in appearance. Males are colored black with yellow facial marks whereas females are completely black.

Distribution and habitat

''Hylaeus assimulans'' is found in coastal and lowland dry forest. Populations are now known only from the islands of Kahoolawe,

Lanai Lanai ( haw, Lānai, , , also ,) is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple pl ...

and

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

. Threats to the species include habitat degradation by nonnative animals and plants, predation by nonnative insects, fires and climate change.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2516017 Colletidae Insects of Hawaii Endemic fauna of Hawaii Endangered fauna of Hawaii Hymenoptera of Oceania Insects described in 1899 ESA endangered species