Sculptured Resin Bee

Here's someone I hadn't seen before, though I may be seeing more of; it's a Sculptured Resin Bee. Native to Japan and China, these invasive bees are starting to show up here in the US. Like most bee species, they are solitary bees that live off pollen/nectar. They can sting, but usually don't. There are 2 main concerns about them:
  1. They (understandably) prefer to nectar on invasive plants from Asia, which probably helps these invasive plants thrive and spread.
  2. They might hurt the our carpenter bees. Since they are tunnel nesters but can't chew through wood themselves, their best strategy might be to take over the tunnels built by local carpenter bees.
They get their name because, after laying eggs in their tunnel nests, these bees close the tunnel with resin. They are considered leafcutter bees, though the classic leafcutter bee closes its tunnel with leaves that it has cut.
July 18, 2021 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary
Photo 148188333, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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