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Photo#396786
Gray hairy bee - Centris pallida

Gray hairy bee - Centris pallida
near Mesa, Arizona, USA
May 15, 2010
Seen on a desert trail near the Salt River. These bees were visiting the same blooms as the honey bees. They are slightly bigger and much more active than a honey bee. They were also visiting holes in the ground, although I never saw one crawl all the way in. Some of them seemed to be fighting in a ball of 3 or 4 bees. I suspect several males were trying to mate with the same female.

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Gray hairy bee - Centris pallida Gray hairy bee - Centris pallida Gray hairy bee - Centris pallida

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Looks like Centris pallida, p
Looks like Centris pallida, provided I spelled that right.

 
Thanks for the hint.
Thanks for the hint. I looked at the Centris species and found my bug here, I think: http://bugguide.net/node/view/139864

Centris (Paracentris)-Centris