The Great Sunflower Project

Protoxaea – miner bees (family Andrenidae)

Genus summary: Protoxaea is a small genus of 10 species that are limited to the Americas (Michener 1994). They live in xeric (dry) tropical and subtropical areas, from Lousiiana to Arizona in the U.S. and south to Chiapas, Mexico (Michener 1994).

Nesting habits: Protoxaea are solitary ground nesters. They nest in deep burrows in flat ground and line their brood cells with a “waxlike” material they secrete (Michener 2000).

Diagnostic characteristics: Protoxaea are large, robust and hairy bees between 0.5 to 1.1 inches long (Michener 2000). They fly fast. They often have metallic markings on their abdomen, and are almost entirely black.

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