Ptiloglossa
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''Ptiloglossa'' is a small genus of bees within the family
Colletidae The Colletidae are a family (biology), family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees or polyester bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with secretions applied with their mouthparts; these s ...
,
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
. ''Ptiloglossa'' is one of the most common nocturnal groups of colletids.


Distribution

The species of ''Ptiloglossa'' are most diverse (over 50 species) in
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
and
Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
. Three species, '' Ptiloglossa arizonensis'', '' P. jonesi'', and '' P. mexicana'', occur in the
Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
.


Description

''Ptiloglossa'' consists of generally large, hairy species which are temporally-specialized
crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal (active during dawn), vespertine (biology), vespertine/vespertinal (active during dusk), or both. This is distinguished from diurnalit ...
pollinators. They have greatly enlarged
ocelli A simple eye or ocellus (sometimes called a pigment pit) is a form of eye or an optical arrangement which has a single lens without the sort of elaborate retina that occurs in most vertebrates. These eyes are called "simple" to distinguish the ...
to assist them in flying under very low light levels.


Life History

They are active only at sundown ( vespertine) or more typically at pre-dawn (
matinal Matutinal, matinal (in entomological writings), and matutine are terms used in the life sciences to indicate something of, relating to, or occurring in the early morning. The term may describe the morning activities of crepuscular animals that a ...
). They often utilize a pollen-extraction behavior known as
buzz pollination Buzz pollination or sonication is a technique used by some bees, such as solitary bees and bumblebees, to release pollen which is more or less firmly held by the anthers. The anthers of buzz-pollinated plant species are typically tubular, with an ...
. Like most colletids, these bees have liquid larval provisions sealed inside a membranous, cellophane-like cell lining, and it is believed that
yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...
s in the liquid may act as the primary protein source.


Species

These 55 species belong to the genus ''Ptiloglossa'': * '' Ptiloglossa absurdipes'' Friese, 1908 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa aculeata'' Friese, 1904 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa aenigmatica'' Moure, 1945 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa amita'' Moure, 1987 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa arizonensis'' Timberlake, 1946 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa buchwaldi'' Friese, 1908 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa concinna'' Moure, 1987 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa costaricana'' Moure, 1945 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa cyaniventris'' Friese, 1925 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa decipiens'' Moure, 1987 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa decora'' Moure, 1945 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa dubia'' Moure, 1945 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa ducalis'' Smith, 1853 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa eburnea'' Friese, 1904 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa eximia'' (Smith, 1861) i c g * '' Ptiloglossa fassli'' Friese, 1925 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa fulvonigra'' Moure, 1987 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa fulvopilosa'' (Cameron, 1903) i c g * '' Ptiloglossa generosa'' (Smith, 1879) i c g * '' Ptiloglossa giacomelli'' Schrottky, 1914 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa goffergei'' Moure, 1953 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa guinnae'' Roberts, 1971 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa hemileuca'' Moure, 1944 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa hondurasica'' Cockerell, 1949 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa hoplopoda'' Moure, 1987 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa immixta'' Moure, 1945 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa jonesi'' Timberlake, 1946 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa lanosa'' Moure, 1945 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa latecalcarata'' Moure, 1945 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa lucernarum'' Cockerell, 1923 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa magrettii'' (Friese, 1899) i c g * '' Ptiloglossa matutina'' (Schrottky, 1904) i c g * '' Ptiloglossa mayarum'' Cockerell, 1912 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa mexicana'' (Cresson, 1878) i c g b * '' Ptiloglossa olivacea'' (Friese, 1898) i c g * '' Ptiloglossa ollantayi'' Cockerell, 1911 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa pallida'' Friese, 1925 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa pallipes'' Friese, 1908 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa pretiosa'' (Friese, 1898) i c g * '' Ptiloglossa psednozona'' Moure, 1947 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa rugata'' Moure, 1945 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa stafuzzai'' Moure, 1945 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa steinheili'' Friese, 1899 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa styphlaspis'' Moure, 1945 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa tarsata'' (Friese, 1900) i c g * '' Ptiloglossa tenuimarginata'' (Smith, 1879) i c g * '' Ptiloglossa thoracica'' (Fox, 1895) i c g * '' Ptiloglossa tomentosa'' (Friese, 1898) i c * '' Ptiloglossa torquata'' Moure, 1987 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa trichrootricha'' Moure, 1987 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa virgili'' (Friese, 1900) i c g * '' Ptiloglossa willinki'' Moure, 1953 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa wilmattae'' Cockerell, 1949 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa xanthorhina'' Moure, 1945 i c g * '' Ptiloglossa xanthotricha'' Moure, 1945 i c g Data sources: i = ITIS, c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF, b = Bugguide.net


See also

* * * *


References


Further reading

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q7257047 Colletidae Bee genera Hymenoptera of North America Hymenoptera of South America Taxa named by Frederick Smith (entomologist)