Colletes
Common Seidenbiene ( Colletes daviesanus )
The plasterer bees ( Colletes ) are a genus of the family of Colletidae within the bees. Of them, 58 species in Europe are found in Central Europe there are 21 The genus is distributed worldwide, but it is lacking in Australia.
Features
The bees reach a body length of 7-16 mm. Same as the mask bees ( Hylaeus ) the plasterer bees have a short bilobed tongue. You can distinguish them from other bee species by the number and size of Cubitalzellen and the tapered end of the female abdomen. The abdomen is black and usually has broad, bright hair bandages on the back edge of the tergites. Only the Spring Seidenbiene ( Colletes cunicularius ) lack these napkins. Pollen collected from hair brush to the tibia of hind legs, the cups on the bottom of the femurs of the hind legs and the sides of the Propodeums.
Way of life
The bees fly from late June to late autumn, with the peak is in July and August. Only the Spring Seidenbiene flying much earlier. The drones hatch earlier than the females, and fly in large numbers in search of females on the ground around.
The females lay their nests each solitaire, but often in large groups. Preference will be flat or slightly sloping terrain with a maximum of weak growth. The common Seidenbiene ( Colletes daviesanus ) creates their nests on cliffs and walls. The nest is always self- dug, some species prefer loose sand, other hard sand bottom and sandstone and mortar joints. Large colonies can so even cause damage to homes. A deeper main course is depending on the type either dug, branching from the side passages to the brood, or brood cells are sequentially applied in partially forked nest transitions. The brood cells themselves can be applied horizontally or almost vertical. They are lined by secretions from two glands on the abdomen of the end and the labium silky, so the genus takes its German name. In addition, a secretion on the walls is distributed from glands of the mandibles, which protects the brood against fungal and bacterial infestation. In the cells of pollen is mixed registered with nectar, they are then sealed with a prepared lid and filled the aisles. The cells may also be used by the following generations back.
Probably all plasterer bees, except Colletes impunctatus, the pollen of certain plant genera specialized ( Oligolektie ). Are bees are parasitized by cuckoo bees of the genus Filzbienen ( Epeolus ), only the Spring Seidenbiene is parasitized by the blood bee Sphecodes albilabris.
Species ( Central Europe)
- Colletes albomaculatus (Lucas, 1849)
- Colletes caspicus Morawitz, 1874
- Colletes collaris Dours, 1872
- Spring Seidenbiene ( Colletes cunicularis ) (Linnaeus, 1761 )
- Common Seidenbiene ( Colletes daviesanus ) Smith, 1846
- Colletes floralis Eversmann, 1852
- Colletes fodiens ( Geoffroy, 1785 )
- Colletes gallicus Radoszkowski, 1891
- Colletes graeffei Alfken, 1900
- Colletes halophilus Verhoef, 1944
- Ivy Seidenbiene ( Colletes hederae ) Schmidt & Westrich, 1993
- Colletes hylaeiformis Eversmann, 1852
- Colletes impunctatus Nylander, 1852
- Colletes marginatus Smith, 1846
- Colletes mlokossewiczi Radoszkowski, 1891
- Colletes nasutus Smith, 1853
- Colletes nigricans Gistel, 1857
- Colletes punctatus Mocsáry, 1877
- Colletes sierrensis Frey- Gessner, 1903
- Colletes similis Schenk, 1853
- Colletes succinctus (Linnaeus, 1758)