Colletidae

Definition

A family of solitary bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) comprising approximately 2,000 species in 54 genera and five to seven subfamilies, commonly called plasterer bees or polyester bees. Members are distinguished by lining brood cells with a cellophane-like secretion applied from the mouthparts, which dries to a polyester membrane. Two subfamilies—Euryglossinae and Hylaeinae (yellow-faced or masked bees)—secondarily lack external scopae and transport pollen internally in the crop, feeding larvae on liquid or semiliquid pollen masses rather than solid provisions.

Etymology

From the type genus Colletes (Greek koleos, 'sheath,' referring to the tongue) + -idae (family suffix).

Example

Colletes inaequalis, a common spring-flying plasterer bee in eastern North America, excavates burrows in sandy soils and lines each brood cell with a transparent, waterproof membrane secreted from the Dufour's gland.

Synonyms

• Plasterer bees
• polyester bees
• cellophane bees

Related Terms

• Apoidea
• Hylaeinae
• Euryglossinae
• scopa
• Dufour's gland
• solitary bee
• Mass provisioning
• pollen transport

Usage Notes

Colletidae is treated as the sister group to all other bee families in most phylogenies, making it phylogenetically significant. The common names 'plasterer' and 'polyester' refer specifically to the cell-lining behavior and should not be applied to other bees. Subfamily classification remains unstable; some systems recognize Stenotritinae and Scraptrinae as separate families. The internal pollen-carrying habit of Hylaeinae and Euryglossinae represents a derived reversal and is not indicative of primitiveness within bees.