''Colletes inaequalis'' is a common species of plasterer bee (family

Colletidae The Colletidae are a family (biology), family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees or polyester bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with secretions applied with their mouthparts; these s ...

), native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Like other species in the genus, it builds cells in underground nests that are lined with a

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

secretion, earning the genus the nickname of polyester bees. ''C. inaequalis'' is a pollinator of red maple trees,

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

trees, and apple trees.

References

Colletidae Hymenoptera of North America Insects of the United States Insects described in 1837 Taxa named by Thomas Say {{bee-stub