Mining-bees
Guides
Ancylandrena
Ancylandrena is a genus of mining bees in the family Andrenidae, established by Cockerell in 1930. The genus contains five described species, all found in North America. One species, Ancylandrena larreae, is commonly known as the creosote bush ancylandrena due to its association with Larrea tridentata. These are solitary bees that nest in the ground.
Andrena
Mining Bees, Mining Bee
Andrena is the largest genus in the family Andrenidae, containing over 1,500 species of solitary ground-nesting bees. These bees are commonly called mining bees due to their habit of excavating burrows in soil to construct nests. The genus is nearly worldwide in distribution, absent only from Oceania and South America, and is most diverse in temperate regions with Mediterranean climates. Andrena species are important pollinators, with many exhibiting specialized relationships with particular host plants.
Andrenidae
mining bees, miner bees, bulldozer bees
Andrenidae is a large, nearly cosmopolitan family of solitary, ground-nesting bees commonly known as mining bees. The family exhibits exceptional diversity with over 2,000 described species across four subfamilies: Andreninae, Panurginae, Oxaeinae, and Alocandreninae. Most diversity occurs in temperate and arid (warm temperate xeric) regions. The genus Andrena contains approximately 1,700 species, making it one of the most rapidly speciating bee lineages known. Members are typically small to moderate-sized bees with distinctive morphological features including two subantennal sutures on the face—a primitive trait shared with sphecoid wasps—and often possess foveae (depressions) near the upper margin of the eyes. Unlike most bee families, Andrenidae have no known kleptoparasites. Some lineages, particularly within Panurginae, have evolved crepuscular (dusk-active) foraging behavior with enlarged ocelli.
Calliopsini
Calliopsini is a tribe of mining bees (family Andrenidae, subfamily Andreninae) comprising at least 120 described species across six genera. Members are solitary, ground-nesting bees found primarily in the Americas. The tribe includes the genera Acamptopoeum, Arhysosage, Calliopsis, Callonychium, Litocalliopsis, and Spinoliella.
Calliopsis
mining bees, panurgine bees
Calliopsis is a genus of solitary mining bees in the family Andrenidae, comprising over 80 described species distributed throughout the western hemisphere. These small to medium-sized bees are ground-nesting, with females excavating burrows in sandy or loose soils. The genus includes both polylectic and oligolectic species, with some showing tight specialization to particular pollen hosts such as Prosopis. Several species have been studied in detail for their nesting biology, foraging behavior, and host-parasite relationships with cleptoparasitic bees.
Macrotera
Goblin Bees
Macrotera is a genus of mining bees (Andrenidae) native to North America, with approximately 30 species. These bees range from 2.0 to 16.0 mm in body length and are predominantly found in desert regions of the United States and Mexico. The genus was segregated from Perdita by C.D. Michener in 2000. Most species exhibit extreme pollen specialization (oligolecty), with documented associations to Sphaeralcea and Cactaceae.
Panurginae
Panurginae is a subfamily of solitary bees within family Andrenidae, comprising 33 genera in 7 tribes. The group is particularly diverse in the New World, with greatest representation in arid and temperate regions, and occurs in the Palearctic and Africa in the Old World. Members are strongly associated with xeric and sandy habitats. Most species are oligolectic, exhibiting specialized pollen-foraging relationships with particular host plants.
Protandrenini
Protandrenini is a tribe of mining bees within the family Andrenidae, subfamily Panurginae. The tribe comprises approximately 10–12 genera and at least 380 described species. Members are primarily distributed in the Americas, with notable diversity in South America. The group is characterized by ground-nesting behavior typical of mining bees, though detailed biological information varies among constituent genera.
Protoxaea
Protoxaea is a genus of mining bees in the family Andrenidae, containing at least three described species. The genus is notable for the well-documented territorial behavior of males in at least one species, Protoxaea gloriosa. These bees are associated with flowering plants in arid environments and exhibit complex mating systems involving male territoriality and female resource collection.
Pseudopanurgus
mining bees
Pseudopanurgus is a genus of mining bees in the family Andrenidae, established by Cockerell in 1897. The genus contains at least 32 described species, though some sources suggest over 130. These bees are small, ranging from 3 mm to 10 mm in body length. Their taxonomic status has been debated, with some treatments recognizing them as a subgenus of Protandrena.