northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's what I believe are Unequal Cellophane Bees . Though they look similar to plenty of other bees, I'm fairly confident of the ID because: The Unequal Cellophane Bees appear quite early in the year, and I started seeing these guys in early March. These bees make holes in the ground similar to ants, with little dirt mounds around the holes. Though these bees aren't social insects that share a home or resources, they do live close to one another, and I saw quite a few holes and bees in the area. These bees are also known for their mating balls - more on those later. I probably should have talked about these bees earlier since you might have had a chance to watch them. With little vegetation around, almost no other insects around, and their mating season in full swing, these bees were much more conspicuous in March and early April. (Oh well, better late than never.) The Unequal Cellophane Bees get the cellophane part of their name because the females line cells in their nes...