Specialized-forager
Guides
Centris lanosa
Wooly Oil-Digger
Centris lanosa is a specialized oil-collecting bee in the family Apidae, commonly known as the wooly oil-digger. It is one of the few bee species that has evolved to collect fatty oils rather than nectar from flowers, specifically from Krameria species. The bee mixes these oils with pollen to provision its larvae. It has a disjunct distribution across the southeastern and southwestern United States, with populations separated by more than 250 km.