What species won the California Native Bee Society's statewide public contest for California's official State Bee, to be considered by the State Legislature?
Drum roll...the California Fairy Bee (Perdita californica), a member of the family Andrenidae.
Among the leading contenders:
- California bumble bee, Bombus californicus/fervidus)
- Crotch's bumble bee, Bombus crotchii
- Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa sonorina
After 15 rounds, the California Fairy Bee won over the California bumble bee. Voting took place from Aug. 11 through Sept. 8.
Although California is home to more than 1600 bee species, the state has no official State Bee. Earlier this year, CalNBS president Jess Mullins introduced the 19 contenders in her talk. See the list of contenders and photos here.
Her choice? P. californica. CalNBS posted this about the bee:
Diet: Specialist on mariposa lily (Calochortus spp.) flowers
Sociality: Solitary
Size: 6 mm long
Nesting strategy: Underground burrows
Pollen transport: On the hind legs
Range: Endemic to California and Baja California
The mission of CalNBS is "to protect California's native bees by fostering stewardship through research, education and conservation." Read more about its work here.
"The Andrenidae (commonly known as mining bees) are a large, nearly cosmopolitan family of solitary, ground-nesting bees. Most of the family's diversity is located in temperate or arid areas (warm temperate xeric). It includes some enormous genera (e.g., Andrena with over 1300 species, and Perdita with over 700)."--Wikipedia
Cover image: The California Fairy Bee, Perdita californica, won the California Native Bee Society's statewide public contest for the California State Legislature to consider it as the official State Bee. (Created with Ai)
