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Cellophane Bees Lat. “Colletes“

The genus Colletes (plasterer bees) is a large group of ground-nesting bees of the family Colletidae. They occur primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. They tend to be solitary, but sometimes nest close together in aggregations. Species in the genus build cells in underground nests that are lined with a cellophane-like plastic secretion, a true polyester, earning them the nickname polyester bees.

Clark, P. Polyester bees: Born in a plastic bag. Washington Post March 15, 2011. Colletes Identification Guide (female). discoverlife.org Colletes Identification Guide (male). discoverlife.org List of Species. discoverlife.org Worldwide Species Map. discoverlife.org

Further reading

Kuhlmann, M. (1999). Colletes wolfi spec. nova from Italy, and lectotype designation for Palaearctic bees of the genus Colletes Latr., with notes on new homonymies and synonymies (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Colletinae). Linzer biologische Beiträge 31(1), 71–81.

Cellophane Bees – No. 1 Cellophane Bees – No. 2 Cellophane Bees – No. 3 Cellophane Bees – No. 4

Ancestry Graph

%%{ init: { 'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': { 'primaryColor': '#83a09c', 'primaryTextColor': '#212d2b', 'primaryBorderColor': '#fff', 'lineColor': '#fff', 'secondaryColor': '#006100', 'tertiaryColor': '#fff' } } }%% flowchart LR classDef active fill:#fff arthropods("phylum: Arthropods"):::active arthropods-->insects("class: Insects"):::active insects-->narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees("suborder: Narrow-waisted Wasps, Ants, and Bees"):::active narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->ants("family: Ants") narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->bembix-rostrata(["species: Bembix rostrata"]) narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees==>cellophane-bees("genus: Cellophane Bees"):::active narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->cuckoo-wasps("family: Cuckoo Wasps") narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->european-beewolf(["species: European beewolf"]) narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->honey-bees-bumble-bees-and-allies("family: Honey Bees, Bumble Bees, and Allies") narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->hornets-paper-wasps-potter-wasps-and-allies("family: Hornets, Paper Wasps, Potter Wasps, and Allies") narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->ichneumonid-wasps("family: Ichneumonid Wasps") narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->lindenius-albilabris(["species: Lindenius albilabris"]) narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->masked-bees("genus: Masked Bees") narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->mason-leafcutter-carder-and-resin-bees("family: Mason, Leafcutter, Carder, and Resin Bees") narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->mining-bees("genus: Mining Bees") narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->oxybelus("genus: Oxybelus") narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->sweat-bees("family: Sweat Bees") narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees-.->thread-waisted-wasps("family: Thread-waisted Wasps") click ants href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/ants/" click bembix-rostrata href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/bembix-rostrata/" click cellophane-bees href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/cellophane-bees/" click cuckoo-wasps href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/cuckoo-wasps/" click european-beewolf href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/european-beewolf/" click honey-bees-bumble-bees-and-allies href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/honey-bees-bumble-bees-and-allies/" click hornets-paper-wasps-potter-wasps-and-allies href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/hornets-paper-wasps-potter-wasps-and-allies/" click ichneumonid-wasps href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/ichneumonid-wasps/" click lindenius-albilabris href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/lindenius-albilabris/" click masked-bees href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/masked-bees/" click mason-leafcutter-carder-and-resin-bees href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/mason-leafcutter-carder-and-resin-bees/" click mining-bees href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/mining-bees/" click oxybelus href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/oxybelus/" click sweat-bees href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/sweat-bees/" click thread-waisted-wasps href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/thread-waisted-wasps/" click arthropods href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/" click insects href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/" click narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/narrow-waisted-wasps-ants-and-bees/"

Further Information

„Cellophane Bees“ on wikipedia.org

„Cellophane Bees“ on iNaturalist.org

Copyright

Wikipedia

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Colletes the free encyclopedia Wikipedia which is released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License). On Wikipedia a list of authors is available.

„Explained as easy as pie — Why small creatures have big differences“ This article is about the evolutionary adaptation that has led to the impressive diversity of arthropods — including insects, crustaceans, and arachnids.

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Explained as easy as pie — Why small creatures have big differences