Area of distribution, focus on Europe, 37 of them in Germany
life form:
The masked bee is a loner and lives alone, they only come together to mate.
Appearance:
The body length is between 3.5 and 10mm depending on the species, it has a slender body with a long abdomen, the body is usually dark to black.
Special features:
White to yellow facial mask, which is very pronounced in males, but only with a few spots on the side of the head in females.
No external characteristics for pollen transport. The pollen that the masked bee collects is swallowed and transported to the nest in the crop.
Special feature:
Their peculiarity lies in the nest construction, it is mostly linear in round niches and woods, but can also adapt in irregular cavities.
The nest is closed with a secretion.
The fibers have a very high flexibility that you can pass through at any time to get into your nest.
The flight phases are May-September.
It is rare that there is a 2nd generation in the same year.