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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees » Miner, Fairy, Allied Panurgine, and Oxaeine Bees (Andrenidae) » Panurgine Bees (Panurginae) » Fairy Bees and Allies (Panurgini) » Fairy and Goblin Bees (Perditina) » Fairy Bees (Perdita) » Subgenus Pygoperdita (Perdita Subgenus Pygoperdita) » Perdita interrupta » Perdita interrupta interrupta
Photo#49317
Small bees and pillows? - Perdita interrupta
Copyright © 2006 Ron Hemberger

Small bees and pillows? - Perdita interrupta
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, CA, California, USA
April 24, 2006
Many mating pairs were sighted. Several of them used a portion of the flower as a "pillow". I almost hesitate to ask, but is this normal behavior?

(This paragraph added later. After checking several other photos more carefully, the "pillow" I alluded to earlier appears to be pollen sacs. Sorry for any confusion.)

Images of this individual: tag all
Small bees and pillows? - Perdita interrupta Small bees and pillows? - Perdita interrupta - male - female Small bees and pillows? - Perdita interrupta - male - female
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Contributed by Ron Hemberger on 24 April, 2006 - 10:54pm
Last updated 29 December, 2007 - 4:33pm

Moved
Moved from Perdita.
… Chuck Entz, 6 May, 2007 - 12:54am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks so much, Chuck, for the page and move.
I had a bit of a problem figuring out the exact name.
… Ron Hemberger, 6 May, 2007 - 6:01am login or register to post comments

Perdita (Pygoperdita) interrupta interrupta Cresson
A well-known oligolege of Eschscholzia californica (California Poppy).

There are 700 Perdita species but knowing the locality and host plant narrows down the possibilities

The "pollen sacs" consist of a pollen mass moistened by nectar, which "glues" it to the sparsely hairy tibia, which the mass surrounds.

Pygoperdita typically mate inside their host flowers
… John S. Ascher, 16 April, 2007 - 12:33pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks, John, I'd missed your recent comments.
For some silly reason, I wasn't subscribed to this. Will now check my new images to see if they're worth posting, being same insect/month/place.
… Ron Hemberger, 25 April, 2007 - 11:54am login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Bees.
… Eric R. Eaton, 6 December, 2006 - 12:08pm login or register to post comments

Perdita?
I know that some species of Perdita (and there are literally hundreds of species) are pollinators of poppies. They are generally very small, and often ornately marked. They are members of the family Andrenidae. I'll be curious to see if Richard agrees with me.
… Eric R. Eaton, 25 April, 2006 - 1:40pm login or register to post comments

 
yes
this is a Perdita
… John S. Ascher, 11 October, 2006 - 9:25pm login or register to post comments

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