Dune-endemic

Guides

• Hesperapis oraria

  Gulf Coast solitary bee, Gulf Coast evening bee

  Hesperapis oraria is a rare, solitary bee endemic to the northern Gulf Coast of the United States. Described in 1997, it is the only known member of the subfamily Dasypodainae in eastern North America. The species is monolectic, relying exclusively on the coastal plain honeycomb head (Balduina angustifolia) for pollen and nectar. It is critically imperiled due to its restricted range and habitat specificity.

  monolecticground-nestingimperiledpollen-specialistdune-endemicunivoltine

• Meloe franciscanus

  Meloe franciscanus is a blister beetle endemic to the southwestern United States. Adults are flightless and feed on Astragalus lentiginosus. The species is notable for its highly specialized larval parasitism of solitary bees in the genus Habropoda. First described from San Francisco dunes in 1928, the species was presumed locally extirpated there due to habitat loss but persists in other regions.

  blister-beetleoil-beetlebee-parasitetriungulinchemical-mimicryallomonedesert-beetledune-endemicHabropodaMeloidae