Pollen-specialists
Guides
Hoplitis
Small Mason Bees
Hoplitis is a large genus of solitary bees in the family Megachilidae, tribe Osmiini, comprising over 380 described species distributed primarily across the Palaearctic region. These bees are commonly known as small mason bees and exhibit diverse nesting strategies including burrows in soil, pre-existing cavities in wood or stone, and insect borings in dead wood. Many species are pollen specialists (oligolectic), with documented associations to specific plant genera including Allium, Reseda, Astragalus, Onosma, and others. The genus demonstrates remarkable biogeographic patterns, including disjunct distributions spanning thousands of kilometers between European and Central Asian populations.