Native Bees Archives - El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum

Mesoxaea texana update from the South Texas Sand Sheet, and guess what? The Protoxaea gloriosa are back!!!!!!!

Camille — Sun, 25 May 2025 16:25:55 +0000

Male Protoxaea gloriosa nectaring on Waltheria indica on May 21, 2025! It’s been four long years since I last laid eyes on them!

by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Dear Fellow Nature Enthusiast,

As I was making the rounds on my little place out in the South Texas Sand Sheet on Saturday, May 17, 2025, scouting for bees, birds, butterflies, and blooms, I was ecstatic to see and record a male Mesoxaea texana (Mt) nectaring on Waltheria indica once again! Just like clockwork, and according to the records I have been keeping in my phenology journal, it was time for Mt to return!

The male Mt, which I have affectionately nicknamed “El Guapo” back in 20221” did not disappoint me. However, what made El Guapo’s sighting even more remarkable is that it was heralded just moments before by its fellow subfamily Oxaeinae member, the Protoxaea gloriosa!

The Protoxaea gloriosa, which I affectionately nicknamed “El Glorioso” back in 2021, was also nectaring on Waltheria indica!

Alternate view of the male Protoxaea gloriosa nectaring on Waltheria indica.

As an aside, the last Protoxaea gloriosa that I recorded on my place was in the Spring of 2021. Remaining hopeful that “El Gloriosa” would one day return, I have been looking for them ever since. It only took approximately four (4) years of waiting, and it was worth it! Now, I have given myself a photo / video challenge: Record as much of “El Glorioso” as possible.

Protoxaea gloriosa caught in a Lynx spider’s deadly embrace circa May 2021.

My phenology records show a cyclical trend—maybe pattern or cycle might be better descriptions—on the amount of time I might expect to see the Mesoxaea texana and indicate that I will get to document the male a few weeks before the female Mesoxaea texana show up. The overall trends on when the cycle starts and stops for this rare native bee, according to my phenology journal data entries, demonstrate that its arrival on the South Texas Sand Sheet has historically been from the months of May to June—even sometimes carrying over into the first week of July.

Last year, the Mesoxaea texana showed up between approximately May 26, 2024, through July 2, 2024. They were spotted on Salvia ballotiflora. A special treat occurred last Fall, 2024, when the Mesoxaea texana reappeared for a second cycle above the ground on the South Texas Sand Sheet from approximately August 24, 2024, through October 26, 2024. During their second cycle, they were spotted predominantly on Waltheria indica, but were also observed on Salvia ballotiflora, Eysenhardtia texana, and Funastrum cynanchoides.

Over the past four years, I have not been able to conduct the same amount of Citizen Science research for the Protoxaea gloriosa as I have for “El Guapo” because I have not laid eyes on it in four years. My luck seems to be changing this year, however! So now what? What about “El Glorioso?” How long will we possibly get to see it on the South Texas Sand Sheet? Will it be long enough to start collecting data? My hunch about “El Glorioso,” based on what I have learned, is that the patterns I have observed and documented for the Mesoxaea texana, its subfamily member, will also apply and hold true for it as well. I guess we will see. Time (and data) will tell their tale.

Male Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica.

I will be, once again, starting up my intermittent, random walking surveys of all nine monitored sights. I will be looking, in earnest, for their nests this year; it is on my bucket list to be able to document them! I will continue to record ground temperatures at the monitored sights, track rainfall, record what’s blooming, and generally keep my eye out for anything that seems remarkable and worthy of note during these two rare, native bees time above the ground in this cycle of their lives on the South Texas Sand Sheet.

A slideshow for you:

Please stay tuned! There is more to come, and thank you for your time!

The post Mesoxaea texana update from the South Texas Sand Sheet, and guess what? The Protoxaea gloriosa are back!!!!!!! appeared first on El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum.

“Female Mesoxaea texana on the South Texas Sand Sheet”

Camille — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 14:32:49 +0000

by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Female Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica.

Thank you for visiting elmestenoranch.com!

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“Making more Mesoxaea texana on the South Texas Sand Sheet”

Camille — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 14:38:28 +0000

by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Female: Shiny, black eyes ~~~ Male: Green, jewel-toned eyes

When I first encountered these two rare bees, they were in flight.

In fact, they flew right in front of me, and I almost ran into them.

I was confused as to what I was seeing.

Front view of the two, conjoined Mesoxaea texana in the act of copulation.

Initially, these two rare bees appeared to be a very long insect flying about three (3) feet above the ground.

It took me a few seconds to realize that this “really long insect” I had nearly bumped into was actual two Mesoxaea texana—conjoined—while in flight.

The Texas native plant these two Mesoxaea texana alighted on was a Salvia ballotiflora, also known as Shrubby Blue Sage.

By the way, this plant has been observed to be a favorite nectar and pollen source for them.

These two remained conjoined for quite some time.

Rough estimates, based on the metadata for all images and videos taken that day, suggest that they were in this state for approximately several minutes.

I have been stewarding this land for these bees since the Fall of 2020.

Their watch, care, and preservation has turned into one of the main “Passion Projects” of this chapter of my life.

Stay tuned. There is definitely more to come.

Thanks for your time!

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“Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica on the South Texas Sand Sheet!”

Camille — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 03:38:17 +0000

by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

He’s BACK!!!!!

A “hovering” display….

A green-eyed male Mesoxaea texana is a repeat visitor to the South Texas Sand Sheet!

This rare, ground nesting bee has earned a few terms of endearment: “MT” and “El Guapo!”

The post “Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica on the South Texas Sand Sheet!” appeared first on El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum.

“Tepanec Long-horned Bees Nectaring on Coma on the South Texas Sand Sheet,” by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Camille — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 15:44:59 +0000

Tepanec Long-horned Bee ~ Melissodes tepaneca

A Tepanec Long-horned bee enjoying a brief stop on a glossy, dark green Coma leaf.

About the Texas native bee:

“Abundant throughout the United States and Canada, these fast-flying bees are hairy and generally large. Males have extraordinarily long antenna.”

Source: Wilson, Joseph S., and Olivia Messinger Carril. “The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America’s Bees.” Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016.

“Melissodes means ‘bee-like.’ Meslissa means ‘bee’ and -odes means ‘looks like’ or ‘resembles.'”
Source: Wilson, Joseph S., and Olivia Messinger Carril. “The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America’s Bees.” Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016.

Note: Less than twenty-four hours after its initial capture, this Tepanec Long-horned bee was returned, alive and unharmed, to the exact tree he was found on. He buzzed off without skipping a beat!

This particular bee was found nectaring on a Coma tree (Bumelia celastrina).

About the Coma tree:

“Shrubs or trees up to 30′ tall (usually less), with milky sap, forming thickets from root sprouts. Side branches usually long slender thorns. Flowers: Radial, fragrant, in clusters from the leaf axils; petals 5, white, up to 3/16″ long. Leaves: Alternate; blades spatulate to ovate, tapering onto the petioles, up to 1 and 5/8″ long. The sweet fragrance of plants in bloom can be detected from long distances.”
Source: Richardson, Alfred, and Ken King. “Plants of Deep South Texas.“ College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2011.

Tamaulipan Thornscrub is an endangered habitat.

Coma is an attractive evergreen tree that is part of the Tamaulipan Thornscrub habitat that dots the landscape out on the South Texas Sand Sheet.

A glimpse into the Tamaulipan Thornscrub on the South Texas Sand Sheet.

Books referenced:

Bravo, Esteban. “Incredible Edibles of South Texas.” (What to Eat & How to Get It). Copy Zone. McAllen, Texas. 2013.
Peacock, Dexter and Forrest S. Smith. “A Photographic Guide to the Vegetation of the South Texas Sand Sheet.” ” Texas A & M University Press. College Station. 2020.
Eason, Michael. “Wildflowers of Texas.” Timber Press Field Guide. Timber Press, Inc. Portland, Oregon. 2018
Richardson, Alfred, and Ken King. “Plants of Deep South Texas.” College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2011.
Wilson, Joseph S., and Olivia Messinger Carril. “The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America’s Bees.” Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016.

Online resources:

A Texas native bee photographed on the exact same Coma Tree in 2022. Although the exact species of Texas native bee is unknown, those antennae are definitively characteristic of male Long-horned bees.

In Celebration of National Pollinator Week 2023!

Camille — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 03:52:42 +0000

A Long-horned bee making a “beeline” for Cowpen Daisy.

Images are of a male Black-legged, long-horned native bee, (Svastra atripes), nectaring on Cowpen Daisy in Puerto Rico, Texas.

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