Researchers spot rare native bees in Georgia

Southeastern sandhill cellophane bees are so rare that they were only discovered in 1997 in Florida, and just a single specimen was discovered in Georgia that same year. But researchers recently discovered a cluster of the mounds found near the burrows that the bees dig in Alligator Creek Wildlife Management Area in Georgia. The southeastern sandhill cellophane bee Colletes ultravalidus lines its nests with waterproof material that looks like plastic—hence its name. There are 17 species native to Georgia, and all are important pollinators. While discovered earlier, the southeastern sandhill cellophane bee wasn’t described until 2016, according to Dirk Stevenson at Georgia Wild.

Read more at The Georgia Wildlife Blog.