Northern colletes  (Colletes floralis)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Biology

This bee is active from mid June to late August (2). Despite showing preferences for the pollen of certain plants, such as those in the parsley family (Apiaceae), the species in fact forages on a very broad range of plants that also includes Rubus, Thymus, Daucus, Eryngium and Jasione, and possibly even has the broadest pollen spectrum of any bee in its genus (4).

It is a solitary bee, meaning that it nests on its own, without a colony of workers. This bee nests in the ground, sealing the nest with soil. Whilst the bee is solitary, the females nest in local aggregations digging burrows 20 to 26 cm deep. They produce a secretion from glands in their mouths which they use to coat the inside of the burrow before laying their eggs in sealed cells. Each cell contains a food reserve comprised of regurgitated nectar and pollen that will feed the larva and then support the pupa through the winter while the bee develops. In June, the male bees emerge first and fly around the nests waiting for the females to emerge, and for the lifecycle to begin again (2).

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