Possible silver tailed petal cutter bee - Ask Extension
Several of these bees have been collecting pollen and petal pieces from blooms of Farewell to Spring (Clarkia amoena) in my garden in Eugene. I think...
Knowledgebase
Possible silver tailed petal cutter bee #879055
Asked July 27, 2024, 7:04 PM EDT
Several of these bees have been collecting pollen and petal pieces from blooms of Farewell to Spring (Clarkia amoena) in my garden in Eugene. I think these are silver tailed petal cutter bees - can you confirm an ID?
Lane County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi Evelyn,
You have a good eye for detecting these small bees on flowers that are low growing. Your photos are really good, for identification purposes to the genus level. Your bee appears from the photos to match what a Megachile montivaga looks like. However for positive species level identification, we need a really close look at a physical specimen of the bee. Thus, I cannot commit to that level of identification. On the other hand you can gather clues such as it is carrying a petal and seeing where it is nesting.
Here's the link to the webpage for "Discover Life: IDnature Guide for Megachile montivaga". You can read their description of determining a positive identification and will see just how precise one needs to be on microscopic features for positive i.d.
You have a good eye for detecting these small bees on flowers that are low growing. Your photos are really good, for identification purposes to the genus level. Your bee appears from the photos to match what a Megachile montivaga looks like. However for positive species level identification, we need a really close look at a physical specimen of the bee. Thus, I cannot commit to that level of identification. On the other hand you can gather clues such as it is carrying a petal and seeing where it is nesting.
Here's the link to the webpage for "Discover Life: IDnature Guide for Megachile montivaga". You can read their description of determining a positive identification and will see just how precise one needs to be on microscopic features for positive i.d.
