Eastern and central North America, from southern Canada through much of the eastern United States.
Fine-art photographic collection
Calliopsis andreniformis
A tiny ground bee whose brood cells are waterproofed with an oily chemical lining.
About this species
Eastern Miner Bee
Calliopsis andreniformisSmith, 1853
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Calliopsis andreniformis is a small eastern North American bee that nests in soil and specialises strongly on legumes. Each female builds her own brood cells and coats them with a secretion that protects the stored pollen from damp ground.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Andrenidae · Calliopsis
Accepted species; English common name follows GBIF/Catalogue of Life. · checked 2026-07-15
Eastern North AmericaBroad documented range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Open sandy or sparsely vegetated ground near flowering legumes.
Adults are active during the flowering season of their host plants.
Females collect pollen principally from plants in the pea family.
Solitary ground-nesting bee.
What makes this species remarkable?
The cell wall is painted with an oily secretion from the Dufour gland, creating a water-resistant nursery around the egg and pollen loaf.
Females concentrate pollen gathering on legumes, carrying the dry grains on specialised hind-leg hairs into separate underground cells.
Its nests are invaded by tiny cuckoo bees in the genus Holcopasites, which bypass nest construction and leave their offspring to consume the stored provision.