A Native Bee Species Field Guide 🐝

One row per bee species, with any named subspecies sorted under its parent. Two columns are easy to mix up. Most-recorded flowers is where a bee was seen most, which reflects what was blooming and how much people looked. Forage preference is the stronger signal, because it compares a bee’s visits to the rest of the community in the same month, year, and method, so a good bloom year cannot masquerade as a preference. Grey rows have fewer than 10 records, so their peak day and season are rough.

A Status of “rare” does not mean a bee is truly rare. Here it usually means the bee is under-sampled, or that its specimen or photo records could not be identified to species.

Bee	IUCN	Records	Status	Peak day	Active months	Where to find	Diet	Most-recorded flowers	Forage preference
	Red List status	times recorded	how often recorded	average date seen	months it’s active	favored transect(s)	how many plants it uses	seen on most	favorite, availability-corrected
Agapostemon melliventrisHoney-tailed Striped Sweat Bee	NE	124	common	Jul 23	Mar-Oct	TP (95%)	Generalist (13 plants)	Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Brittlebushes (Encelia), Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Leptosyne	Generalist (visits ~ availability)
Agapostemon subtiliorFine striped sweat bee	NE	951	common	Jul 11	Feb-Nov	TP (43%), UPMON (24%), OT (18%), BST (15%)	Generalist (31 plants)	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Brittlebushes (Encelia), Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Corethrogyne, Bushmallows (Malacothamnus)	Selective -> Corethrogyne (4.8x vs available)
Andrena atypica	NE	4	rare	Mar 12	Mar	BST (100%)	not enough records	Buckthorns (Rhamnus)	not enough records
Andrena auricomaGolden-haired Miner Bee	NE	1	rare	Jan 13	Jan		not enough records	Ceanothus (Ceanothus)	not enough records
Andrena baeriae	NE	6	rare	Apr 2	Mar-Apr	TP (100%)	not enough records	Goldfields (Lasthenia), Linanthus	not enough records
Andrena cerasifoliiCherry Plum Mining Bee	NE	1	rare	Mar 2	Mar	OT (100%)	not enough records	Sumacs (Rhus)	not enough records
Andrena oenotheraeOenothera Miner	NE	2	rare	May 4	May	TP (100%)	not enough records	Suncups (Camissoniopsis)	not enough records
Andrena pallidifoveaPale-fovea Miner	NE	8	rare	Mar 28	Mar-Apr	UPMON (62%), BST (25%)	not enough records	Brittlebushes (Encelia), Leptosyne	not enough records
Andrena perimelasAll-dark Miner	NE	194	common	Feb 14	Jan-Mar	TP (80%)	Generalist (11 plants)	Leptosyne, Sumacs (Rhus), Brittlebushes (Encelia), Eschscholzia, Woodsorrels (Oxalis)	Selective -> Leptosyne (5.4x vs available)
Anthidium jocosum	NE	1	rare	Jun 23	Jun	TP (100%)	not enough records	Rabbit-tobaccos (Pseudognaphalium)	not enough records
Anthidium maculosumSpotted Woolcarder	NE	11	rare	Aug 16	Jul-Sep		not enough records	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Sairocarpus, Corethrogyne, Deinandra, Brittlebushes (Encelia)	not enough records
Anthophora californicaCalifornia Digger Bee	NE	117	common	May 16	Mar-Sep	TP (82%)	Generalist (16 plants)	Stinkweed (Cleomella), Liveforever (Dudleya), Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Corethrogyne, Deervetch (Acmispon)	Selective -> Liveforever (Dudleya) (59.5x vs available)
Anthophora curtaShort Sun-digger Bee	NE	99	common	Aug 9	Apr-Sep	TP (76%)	Generalist (8 plants)	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Deinandra, Brittlebushes (Encelia), Corethrogyne, Bahiopsis	Generalist (visits ~ availability)
Anthophora urbanaUrbane Digger Bee	NE	62	common	Sep 4	Aug-Oct		Generalist (8 plants)	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), False Goldenasters (Heterotheca), Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Sairocarpus, Suncups (Camissoniopsis)	Selective -> Sairocarpus (23.8x vs available)
Anthophora urbana clementinaSan Clemente Digger Bee	NE	41	uncommon	Aug 31	Aug-Sep		not enough records	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), False Goldenasters (Heterotheca), Corethrogyne, Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma)	not enough records
Ashmeadiella cubiceps	NE	3	rare	May 31	May-Jun		not enough records	Brittlebushes (Encelia)	not enough records
Atoposmia hemizoniae	NE	4	rare	Jun 29	May-Jul	TP (100%)	not enough records	Deinandra	not enough records
Augochlorella pomoniellaPeridot Sweat Bee	NE	1755	common	Aug 9	Apr-Oct	TP (57%), UPMON (17%), OT (16%)	Generalist (43 plants)	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Brittlebushes (Encelia), Deinandra	Selective -> Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma) (1.6x vs available)
Bombus californicus*California Bumble Bee	VU	140	common	May 30	Apr-Jul	BST (29%), OT (26%), UPMON (25%), TP (19%)	Generalist (14 plants)	Deervetch (Acmispon), Milkvetches (Astragalus), Corethrogyne, Paintbrushes (Castilleja), Stinkweed (Cleomella)	Selective -> Paintbrushes (Castilleja) (39.3x vs available)
Bombus crotchii*Crotch's Bumble Bee	EN	13	rare	Apr 29	Mar-May		not enough records	Milkvetches (Astragalus), Deervetch (Acmispon), Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon), Sumacs (Rhus), Sages (Salvia)	not enough records
Bombus melanopygusBlack-tailed Bumble Bee	LC	189	common	May 22	Apr-Oct	UPMON (38%), TP (32%), BST (28%)	Generalist (22 plants)	Sages (Salvia), Deervetch (Acmispon), Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Brittlebushes (Encelia), Heteromeles	Selective -> Sages (Salvia) (15.0x vs available)
Bombus sonorus*Sonoran Bumble Bee	VU	86	common	Jul 31	Jun-Sep	UPMON (38%), TP (33%), BST (27%)	Generalist (12 plants)	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Stinkweed (Cleomella), Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Corethrogyne, Sages (Salvia)	Selective -> Stinkweed (Cleomella) (11.9x vs available)
Bombus vosnesenskiiYellow-faced Bumble Bee	LC	719	common	Jun 14	Mar-Oct	UPMON (49%), BST (31%), TP (15%)	Generalist (36 plants)	Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Deervetch (Acmispon), Milkvetches (Astragalus), Deinandra, Heteromeles	Selective -> Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum) (7.2x vs available)
Brachymelecta californicaCalifornia Digger-cuckoo Bee	NE	18	uncommon	Apr 24	Mar-Jun	TP (100%)	not enough records	Brittlebushes (Encelia), Deinandra, Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum)	not enough records
Centris rhodopus	NE	4	rare	Sep 5	Aug-Sep		not enough records	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria)	not enough records
Ceratina acantha	NE	151	common	Jun 18	Mar-Sep	TP (48%), UPMON (25%), BST (24%)	Generalist (23 plants)	Brittlebushes (Encelia), Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Leptosyne, Corethrogyne	Generalist (visits ~ availability)
Ceratina arizonensisArizona Small carpenter	NE	25	uncommon	Aug 22	May-Dec		not enough records	Heliotropes (Heliotropium), Brittlebushes (Encelia), Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Ngaios (Myoporum), Sumacs (Rhus)	not enough records
Colletes hyalinus	NE	60	common	Jul 16	Apr-Oct	TP (83%), UPMON (15%)	Generalist (12 plants)	Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Deinandra, Brittlebushes (Encelia), Heteromeles	Generalist (visits ~ availability)
Colletes hyalinus gaudialis	NE	60	common	Jul 16	Apr-Oct	TP (83%), UPMON (15%)	Generalist (12 plants)	Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Deinandra, Brittlebushes (Encelia), Heteromeles	not enough records
Colletes ochraceusOchraceous Cellophane Bee	NE	17	uncommon	Aug 4	Jun-Sep	UPMON (90%)	not enough records	Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma)	not enough records
Colletes sleviniSlevin's Cellophane Bee	NE	5	rare	Aug 15	Jul-Sep	UPMON (100%)	not enough records	Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum)	not enough records
Diadasia australis	NE	1	rare	Jul 20	Jul	UPMON (100%)	not enough records	Prickly Pears (Opuntia)	not enough records
Diadasia bituberculataBindweed Turret Bee	NE	1	rare	May 12	May	BST (100%)	not enough records	False Bindweeds (Calystegia)	not enough records
Diadasia diminutaGlobe Mallow Bee	NE	1	rare	Jun 29	Jun	UPMON (100%)	not enough records	Bushmallows (Malacothamnus)	not enough records
Diadasia ochraceaOchraceous Chimney Bee	NE	18	uncommon	Jun 30	May-Aug	BST (54%), UPMON (46%)	not enough records	Bushmallows (Malacothamnus)	not enough records
Diadasia rinconisCactus Bee	NE	1	rare	Apr 27	Apr		not enough records	Chollas (Cylindropuntia)	not enough records
Dianthidium pudicumModest Pebble Bee	NE	1	rare	Jul 31	Jul	TP (100%)	not enough records	Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma)	not enough records
Dufourea australisSouthwestern Shortface	NE	1085	common	Apr 30	Mar-Jun	TP (60%), BST (22%)	Generalist (16 plants)	Brittlebushes (Encelia), Leptosyne, Bahiopsis, Deinandra, Pincushion Plants (Chaenactis)	Selective -> Brittlebushes (Encelia) (3.8x vs available)
Dufourea brevicornis	NE	1	rare	Apr 24	Apr	UPMON (100%)	not enough records	Eschscholzia	not enough records
Epeolus compactusCompact Cellophane-Cuckoo	NE	1	rare	Mar 25	Mar		not enough records	Leptosyne	not enough records
Habropoda depressa	NE	2	rare	Mar 8	Mar	BST (50%), UPMON (50%)	not enough records	Sages (Salvia)	not enough records
Habropoda tristissima	NE	44	uncommon	Mar 28	Mar-Apr	BST (76%), OT (15%)	not enough records	Sages (Salvia), Deervetch (Acmispon), Milkvetches (Astragalus), Suncups (Camissoniopsis), Stinkweed (Cleomella)	not enough records
Halictus farinosusWide-striped Sweat Bee	NE	1	rare	Aug 20	Aug	OT (100%)	not enough records	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria)	not enough records
Halictus ligatusLigated Furrow Bee	NE	196	common	Jul 20	Mar-Oct	TP (86%)	Generalist (10 plants)	Brittlebushes (Encelia), Deinandra, Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Leptosyne	Selective -> Deinandra (3.5x vs available)
Halictus tripartitusTripartite Sweat Bee	NE	57	common	Jun 21	Mar-Sep	UPMON (82%)	Generalist (16 plants)	Brittlebushes (Encelia), Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Bushmallows (Malacothamnus), Malosma	Selective -> Pincushion Plants (Chaenactis) (12.3x vs available)
Hoplitis grinnelliGrinnell's Small-Mason	NE	12	rare	Apr 23	Mar-May	TP (91%)	not enough records	Brittlebushes (Encelia), Woodsorrels (Oxalis), Deervetch (Acmispon), Fiddlenecks (Amsinckia), Pincushion Plants (Chaenactis)	not enough records
Hylaeus polifoliiBuckwheat Masked Bee	NE	12	rare	Jun 10	Apr-Jul		not enough records	Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Corethrogyne, Baccharis, Stinkweed (Cleomella), Heteromeles	not enough records
Lasioglossum actinosum	NE	1	rare	Sep 17	Sep		not enough records	Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma)	not enough records
Lasioglossum cabrilli	NE	1	rare	May 15	May		not enough records	Woolly Sunflowers (Eriophyllum)	not enough records
Lasioglossum californiae	NE	5	rare	May 6	Mar-Aug	UPMON (80%), TP (20%)	not enough records	Bahiopsis, Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Brittlebushes (Encelia)	not enough records
Lasioglossum gaudiale	NE	9	rare	Aug 11	Jun-Oct	TP (89%)	not enough records	Deinandra, Heliotropes (Heliotropium), Woolly Sunflowers (Eriophyllum), Spurges (Euphorbia), Ice Plants (Mesembryanthemum)	not enough records
Lasioglossum grinnelli	NE	16	uncommon	May 14	Mar-Jun	UPMON (56%), BST (25%), TP (19%)	not enough records	Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Liveforever (Dudleya), Sages (Salvia)	not enough records
Lasioglossum incompletumIncomplete Sweat Bee	NE	32	uncommon	Jun 12	Apr-Aug	UPMON (35%), BST (32%), TP (32%)	not enough records	Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Spurges (Euphorbia), Stinkweed (Cleomella), Corethrogyne, Liveforever (Dudleya)	not enough records
Lasioglossum mellipes	NE	2	rare	Mar 5	Mar	BST (100%)	not enough records	False Bindweeds (Calystegia), Sages (Salvia)	not enough records
Lasioglossum microlepoides	NE	73	common	May 22	Mar-Oct	TP (59%), UPMON (23%), BST (19%)	Generalist (21 plants)	Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Brittlebushes (Encelia), Leptosyne, Deinandra, Ice Plants (Mesembryanthemum)	Selective -> Bahiopsis (3.2x vs available)
Lasioglossum ovalicepsOval-headed Sweat Bee	NE	1	rare	Mar 23	Mar		not enough records	Paintbrushes (Castilleja)	not enough records
Lasioglossum perichlarus	NE	64	common	May 10	Apr-Oct	TP (62%), BST (21%), UPMON (16%)	Generalist (14 plants)	Brittlebushes (Encelia), Leptosyne, Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Corethrogyne, Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum)	Generalist (visits ~ availability)
Lasioglossum petrellum	NE	49	uncommon	Aug 4	Mar-Sep	TP (88%)	not enough records	Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Brittlebushes (Encelia), Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Deinandra, Suncups (Camissoniopsis)	not enough records
Lasioglossum robustum	NE	2	rare	May 14	May	UPMON (100%)	not enough records	Stinkweed (Cleomella), Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum)	not enough records
Lasioglossum sisymbriiTansy Mustard Sweat Bee	NE	118	common	Apr 17	Feb-Aug	TP (41%), UPMON (23%), BST (18%), OT (18%)	Generalist (21 plants)	Brittlebushes (Encelia), Leptosyne, Bushmallows (Malacothamnus), Sumacs (Rhus), Dipterostemon	Selective -> Bushmallows (Malacothamnus) (17.0x vs available)
Lasioglossum turgiventre	NE	2	rare	Apr 17	Apr	BST (100%)	not enough records	Deervetch (Acmispon), Rabbit-tobaccos (Pseudognaphalium)	not enough records
Megachile fidelisHorn-faced Leafcutter Bee	NE	1	rare	Jul 31	Jul		not enough records	Brittlebushes (Encelia)	not enough records
Megachile parallelaParallel Leafcutter Bee	NE	27	uncommon	Sep 2	Jul-Sep		not enough records	Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Brittlebushes (Encelia), Deinandra, False Goldenasters (Heterotheca)	not enough records
Megachile policaris	NE	1	rare	Oct 29	Oct		not enough records	Brittlebushes (Encelia)	not enough records
Megachile texanaTexas Leafcutter Bee	NE	1	rare	Jul 3	Jul		not enough records	Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum)	not enough records
Melissodes microstictus	NE	2	rare	Sep 13	Sep	BST (100%)	not enough records	Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma)	not enough records
Melissodes moorei	NE	19	uncommon	Sep 2	Jun-Oct	UPMON (75%), TP (25%)	not enough records	Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Brittlebushes (Encelia), Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum), Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria)	not enough records
Melissodes robustior	NE	46	uncommon	May 27	Mar-Jul	TP (55%), UPMON (26%), BST (16%)	not enough records	Brittlebushes (Encelia), Corethrogyne, Liveforever (Dudleya), Bahiopsis, Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum)	not enough records
Melissodes tessellatus	NE	1	rare	Sep 4	Sep	OT (100%)	not enough records	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria)	not enough records
Melissodes verbesinarum	NE	1	rare	Oct 1	Oct	BST (100%)	not enough records	Deervetch (Acmispon)	not enough records
Nomada formula	NE	10	rare	Aug 19	Aug-Sep	OT (88%)	not enough records	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma)	not enough records
Osmia clarescens	NE	2	rare	Apr 24	Apr	BST (50%), UPMON (50%)	not enough records	Annual Cryptanthas (Cryptantha)	not enough records
Perdita californicaCalifornia Fairy Bee	NE	1	rare	Jun 24	Jun	OT (100%)	not enough records	Mariposa Lilies (Calochortus)	not enough records
Perdita hirticeps	NE	107	common	Aug 14	Jun-Oct	OT (65%), TP (34%)	Specialist (3 plants)	Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria), Pincushion Plants (Chaenactis), Brittlebushes (Encelia)	Selective -> Wirelettuces (Stephanomeria) (3.3x vs available)
Perdita interruptaCalifornia Poppy Fairy Bee	NE	41	uncommon	Apr 9	Mar-May	TP (100%)	not enough records	Eschscholzia, Leptosyne, Goldfields (Lasthenia)	not enough records
Perdita malacothricisDesert Dandelion Fairy Bee	NE	2	rare	Apr 24	Apr	TP (100%)	not enough records	Pincushion Plants (Chaenactis)	not enough records
Perdita rhoisRhus Fairy Bee	NE	53	common	Jun 25	Jun-Aug	UPMON (97%)	Moderate (6 plants)	Heteromeles, Malosma, Adenostoma, Sumacs (Rhus), Deinandra	Selective -> Adenostoma (163.0x vs available)
Tetraloniella davidsoniDavidson's Longhorn Bee	NE	2	rare	Mar 21	Mar	UPMON (100%)	not enough records	Brittlebushes (Encelia), Leptosyne	not enough records
Trachusa perditaCalifornia Resin-Leafcutter	NE	1	rare	Jun 25	Jun	OT (100%)	not enough records	Deinandra	not enough records
Xenoglossa pomonaePomona Longhorn	NE	66	common	Jul 29	Jun-Sep	TP (51%), UPMON (35%)	Specialist (3 plants)	Deinandra, Jimmyweeds and Goldenbushes (Isocoma), Rabbit-tobaccos (Pseudognaphalium)	Selective -> Deinandra (7.4x vs available)

The IUCN column shows each bee's Red List status. Codes: NE (Not Evaluated), DD Data Deficient, LC Least Concern, NT Near Threatened, VU Vulnerable, EN Endangered, CR Critically Endangered. Source: IUCN Red List API v4.