This Digger bee is about .50 inch in length. It has yellow hair on the face and thorax and an all black abdomen. The bees in the genus Melissodes are called Long-horned Bees for the unusually long antennae of the male. The male has a yellow clypeus. The females have shorter antennae and a dark clypeus. The females also have thick, yellow brushes of hair (scopa) on the hind legs which are used to carry pollen. This bee was identified by Dr. John S. Ascher, a volunteer expert at the BugGuide website.
This Melissodes bee is probably common in this area. It was photographed in early August 2012 in the wetlands area of Fontenelle Forest nectaring on a large thistle (Cirsium sp.), their preferred nectar source. However, they will also nectar at many other flowers.
There are 119 species of Melissodes bees in North America. Most are solitary ground nesters. They dig long burrows and stock the nest with pollen for the bee larva to feed on. These bees are parasitized by the cuckoo bee Tripeolous. The Tripeolous bee enters the nest and lays an egg on the brood cell. The Tripeolous larva eats the pollen that was provisioned for the Melissodes larva.
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