Up in Mendocino County last week we noticed these small whitish bees flying very close to the ground. They were very fast flyers, and didn't land very often, so it was easy to lose sight of them as they disappeared into the grassland or along the trail. This is one of the only photos that came out well enough to share.
My guess for this bee? Perhaps a species called Melissodes pallidisignata, sometimes called a Pale-marked Long-horned Bee.
I first wrote about this species back in 2012. If you'd like to see a photo from Bodega Head, check out the post called "Mint green and fuzzy" from 25 July 2012. And note that while the photo above is a male, the females look quite different! See the post called "Pollen-covered chaps" from 31 July 2013.
They look like tiny furry pets, don't they?
ReplyDeleteYes! Really interesting little bees! I also wondered about a different name for them, something like a "yeti bee". :)
ReplyDelete