An image documenting multiple bee species with ID tips Andrena: Usually looks like a black bug in a fur coat Some Andrean will eat anything (Generalists) Including A. dunningi, a black bug in a brown fur coat, some hair on head, and no colored hair on abdomen A. milwaukeensis, a black bug in a longer golden-red fur coat. Thorax is all orangey rust fur, top of head has some hair, and T1-T2 have orange hair too But many Andrena are picky! (Specialists) A. erigeniae is a spring beauty specialist A. erythronii is a trout lily specialist Both of them are black with a soft, sparse gray-fur thorax Colletes- C. inaequalis is the Colletes most likely spotted They are fluffy yellow thorax, fluffy face, and black abdomen with strong white/cream banding. Likes: Willows and fruit trees (pink apple blossoms, cherry, pear, plum). The Key with Colletes is a heart-shaped face. Less common is C. thoracicus, which is like C. inaequalis, but more red/rust/orange
Tiny Bee SPRING SHOWDOWN: Andrena (more common) vs Colletes (more cute, IMO) Their pollen zones on female bees are different, with Andrena having more of a "knee-pit" / armpit collection that looks like a bulky leg warmer. Colletes is more divided between tibia and femur Their wings have slight differences, with different scaled submarginal shapes. Additionally, andrena has a straight line where Colletes tends to have an S shape in the middle of their wing Their butts (abdomens) are different, with proportions exaggerated here. On Andrena T3 and T4 are bigger than T1 and T2, while on Colletes, the opposite is true Head shapes: Andrena has a square/rectangular head, while Colletes has a heart-shaped head. They're both cute.
quick, look at an Andrena vs Colletes comparison before it becomes irrelevant, until like July. Colletes are big spring guys and only show up rarely later in the year.
