Spring-pollinators
Guides
Colletes
plasterer bees, cellophane bees, polyester bees
Colletes is a large genus of solitary ground-nesting bees in the family Colletidae, comprising approximately 470 described species with an estimated total around 700. Adults are small, typically 1–2 cm long, with dense pale hair and distinctive wing venation. Females construct individual underground burrows lined with a unique polyester secretion from the Dufour's gland, creating a cellophane-like waterproof coating that gives these bees their common names. They are among the earliest native bees to emerge in spring and are important pollinators, with many species showing specialized pollen-foraging preferences.