Kofa-national-wildlife-refuge

Guides

• Xeralictus bicuspidariae

  Xeralictus bicuspidariae is a rare bee species in the family Halictidae, discovered to play a central role in a floral mimicry system in the Sonoran Desert. The species is one of two rare Xeralictus bees involved in a pollination relationship with Mentzelia involucrata, a yellow-flowered plant in the family Loasaceae. Male bees patrol for females at these flowers, where they attempt to mate with females buried head-first in the blossoms. This behavior has been exploited by the orchid-like plant Mohavea confertiflora, which mimics both the appearance of Mentzelia flowers and the visual cue of a female bee abdomen, tricking males into attempting copulation and thereby transferring pollen.

  beehalictidpollinationfloral-mimicrydeceptive-pollinationsexual-mimicrySonoran-DesertMentzeliaMohavearare-speciesKofa-National-Wildlife-Refugeparapatric-distributionArizona