''Hylaeus longiceps'', also known as the longhead yellow-faced bee, 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 ...

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 six populations. In September 2016, along with six other Hawaiian yellow-faced bee species, ''H. longiceps'' 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 bees species in the US.

Description

This bee is black in color with "smoky-colored wings".

USFWS The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

USFWS Species Assessment and Listing Priority Assignment Form.
April 1, 2012. It has an elongated head. The male has a yellow band on his face, while the female is totally black. This is a

solitary 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 monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...

. The female lays eggs in a nest which may be located in the ground or under bark; the bee uses available cavities and does not excavate the nest herself. She lines the cavity with a film she secretes, and then places a mass of nectar and pollen for the newly hatched larvae to eat. The adult bee consumes nectar. This and many other ''Hylaeus'' species lack the

scopa ''Scopa'' (; literally "broom") is an Italian card game, and one of the three major national card games in Italy, the others being ''Briscola'' and ''Tresette''. It is also popular in Argentina and Brazil, brought in by Italian immigrants, mostly ...

which some bees use to carry pollen, and instead carry it in their crops. The bee visits several native Hawaiian plants, such as ''

Scaevola coriacea ''Scaevola coriacea'', the dwarf naupaka, is one of the ten Scaevolas (flowering plants in the ''Goodenia'' family, Goodeniaceae), that are endemic to Hawaii. It was first described in 1842 by Thomas Nuttall, and its specific epithet, ''coriac ...

'', ''

Sida fallax ''Sida fallax'', known as yellow ilima or golden mallow, is a species of herbaceous flowering plant in the ''Hibiscus'' family, Malvaceae, indigenous to the Hawaiian Archipelago and other Pacific Islands. Plants may be erect or prostrate and are ...

'', ''

Sesbania tomentosa ''Sesbania tomentosa'', commonly known as Oahu riverhemp and ''ōhai'', is an endangered species of plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the main Hawaiian Islands as well as Nihoa and Necker Island. It inhabits low shrublands ...

'', ''

Myoporum sandwicense ''Myoporum sandwicense'', commonly known as ''naio'', bastard sandalwood or false sandalwood is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is a tree or shrub highly variable in its form, the size and shape of its l ...

'', ''

Santalum ellipticum ''Santalum ellipticum'', commonly known as ''Iliahialoe'' (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian) or coastal sandalwood, is a species of flowering plant in the Viscum album, mistletoe family, Santalaceae, that is Endemism, endemic to the Hawaiian Islands ...

'', and ''

Vitex rotundifolia ''Vitex rotundifolia'', the roundleaf chastetree or beach vitex, is a species of flowering plant in the sage family Lamiaceae. It is native to seashores throughout the Pacific. Its range includes continents and islands stretching from India east ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

This bee occurs in coastal and lowland dry shrubland. There are 3 populations on

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 one each on

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 ...

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...

, and

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

. The population sizes are not known. Much of its known habitat has been developed or degraded, and its host plants no longer grow in the area. The main threat to the species is habitat loss. Damage to the habitat has occurred via development, the introduction of nonnative plants and animals, agriculture, recreational activity, and fire. Natural disasters such as hurricanes are also a threat to the habitat. This and other rare ''Hylaeus'' bee species were once "widespread" in Hawaii.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q666378 Colletidae Insects of Hawaii Endemic fauna of Hawaii Endangered fauna of Hawaii Hymenoptera of Oceania Insects described in 1899 Taxa named by Robert Cyril Layton Perkins ESA endangered species