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🐝 Ants, Bees & Wasps

European Oil Bee

Macropis europaea

Near Threatened

About

One of only two Northern Hemisphere bees that collect floral oils instead of nectar as a food provision. It collects oils from yellow loosestrife flowers.

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Did You Know?

It mixes collected floral oil with pollen to create a waterproof, long-lasting larval food that resists mold in its damp underground nests.