Polyester-bees
Guides
Colletidae
plasterer bees, polyester bees, cellophane bees
Colletidae is a family of solitary bees comprising over 2,000 species across 54 genera and five subfamilies. Members are commonly called plasterer bees or polyester bees due to their distinctive nest cell linings: females apply oral and abdominal secretions that dry into a cellophane-like, waterproof polyester membrane. The family exhibits exceptional diversity in Australia and South America, with over 50% of Australian bee species belonging to this family. Two subfamilies, Euryglossinae and Hylaeinae, uniquely lack external pollen-carrying structures (scopa) and instead transport pollen internally in their crops, feeding larvae with liquid or semiliquid pollen masses. Most species are solitary ground-nesters, though many form dense aggregations, and some exhibit crepuscular activity with enlarged ocelli.