Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees » Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees (Apidae) » Honey, Bumble, Longhorn, Orchid, and Digger Bees (Apinae) » Digger Bees (Anthophorini) » Habropoda » Blueberry Digger Bee (Habropoda laboriosa)

Species Habropoda laboriosa - Blueberry Digger Bee

St. Andrews bee on Gelsemium sempervirens 2022 7.1 - Habropoda laboriosa

St. Andrews bee small on Rhododendron species 2022 1.1 - Habropoda laboriosa

Habropoda laboriosa? - Habropoda laboriosa - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)

No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)

No Taxon (Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees)

Family Apidae (Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees)

Subfamily Apinae (Honey, Bumble, Longhorn, Orchid, and Digger Bees)

Tribe Anthophorini (Digger Bees)

Genus Habropoda

Species laboriosa (Blueberry Digger Bee)

Other Common Names

Also known as the Southeastern Blueberry Bee, but it occurs north to New England, and "bee" is not specific enough as there are several bee specialists on blueberry present in the Southeast USA (and elsewhere).

Explanation of Names

Author: Fabricius, 1804.

Size

Female 15.5-16mm. Male 13-14 mm.

Range

Illinois to the New England states, south to Mississippi and Florida.

Discover Life Map. It has been also been collected in Quebec and Ontario, Canada.

Habitat

November, January and February in Florida, elsewhere March to May.

Food

Primarily blueberry. The Hosts section on its Discover Life species page lists known floral associations based on specimen records and images.

Remarks

A good pollinator of blueberries. It is estimated that each female visits nearly 50,000 Vaccinium ashei flowers in its lifetime, producing over 6,000 ripe blueberries with a fresh market value of $20 U.S.

Internet References

Discover Life

Valdosta State University. Foraging behavior of Habropoda laboriosa

Foraging ecology of Habropoda laboriosa (Complete article)

Contributed by Beatriz Moisset on 30 October, 2008 - 5:39pm
Additional contributions by John S. Ascher, hg, PaleoJon, bdagley
Last updated 22 September, 2021 - 4:54pm

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