Hylaeus agilis

Hylaeus agilis, commonly known as the masked bee, is a bee species in the family Colletidae. It is endemic to New Zealand.[1] This species is found throughout the country and visits the flowers of a wide variety of plant species, both native and introduced.[2]

Hylaeus agilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Colletidae
Genus: Hylaeus
Species:
H. agilis
Binomial name
Hylaeus agilis
(Smith, 1876)
Synonyms
  • Prosopis agilis Smith, 1876

Description

Hylaeus agilis are slender and mainly black in colour, with distinctive yellow or white markings on their face. They have sparse hairs and range in size from 7-9mm.[3] Like all Hylaeus bees they lack pollen-carrying hairs (scopa), and resemble wasps.[4]

They have been discovered to pollinate red mistletoe (Peraxilla tetrapetala), an endangered mistletoe species endemic to New Zealand. This mistletoe species is explosive, meaning that requires forceful opening and was previously thought to only attract endemic birds evolved to twist the flowers open.[5] However, Hylaeus agilis was observed continuously gnawing on unopened buds until they opened.[3][6] Thus H. agilis is ecologically important for native New Zealand plants.

Because H. agilis has no specialized pollen-carrying structures on its body, pollen is carried in a crop.[7] This internal pollen is regurgitated for larval food.[4] Like most bee species endemic to New Zealand, they are solitary mining bees but instead of constructing or excavating their own nests, they live in blind tunnels in branches and twigs, or in abandoned beetle holes in logs.[3][4][7]

Distribution

H. agilis is found on the North, South and Stewart Islands as well as on Three Kings Island.[2] H. agilis is predominantly located in vegetated areas from sea level to 1590m of elevation.[2]

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References
  1. "Hylaeus agilis (Smith, 1876)". Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  2. Donovan, B.J. (2007). "Apoidea (Insecta: Hymenoptera)" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 57: 1–295 – via Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd.
  3. Hart,N. (2007). Industrious Native Bees: A Case Study in Whangarei (Master’s thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand). Retrieved from https://www.fndc.govt.nz/services/the-far-north-district-plan/plan-changes/plan-change-18/Pre-Circulated-Evidence-GEFree-Ngaire-Hart2.pdf
  4. "T.E.R:R.A.I.N - Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network - Bee (Yellow-masked) Hylaeus spp". www.terrain.net.nz. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  5. Sessions, Laura (September 2000). "A Floral Twist of Fate". Natural History.
  6. Ladley, Jenny; Kelly, Dave; Robertson, Alastair (1997). "Explosive flowering, nectar production, breeding systems, and pollinators of New Zealand mistletoes (Loranthaceae)" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Botany. 35: 345–360. doi:10.1080/0028825x.1997.10410160.
  7. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "4. – Wasps and bees – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
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