A Closer Look: The Long-horned Bee

Long-horned bees, like this one (likely a male with those long antennae), love visiting flowers in the Aster family. They also appreciate sunflowers, blueberry and Crepe Myrtle flowers. This beauty is sitting on a Cosmos bloom. Florida's long-horned bees are mostly from the genus Melissodes. These are solitary bees, don't form colonies and the females typically build nests underground.