| Macrotera portalis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Face of a large-headed, flightless male of Macrotera portalis. Specimen is deposited in the Snow Entomological Museum at the University of Kansas (accession #SMO290071). Yellow paint on top of head was used to mark the specimen during nesting studies. | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Andrenidae |
| Genus: | Macrotera |
| Species: | M. portalis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Macrotera portalis (Timberlake, 1954)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Perdita portalis Timberlake, 1954 | |
Macrotera portalis is a species of communal, ground nesting, partially bivoltine bees found in arid grasslands and desert regions of North America.[1] An oligolectic bee, M. portalis gathers pollen only from plants in the genus Sphaeralcea[2] and has patterns of seasonal emergence to survive the harsh conditions of the desert, with emergence delayed until monsoon rains arrive.[3]
- ^ Danforth, Bryan (1991). "Female foraging and intranest behavior of a communal Bee, Perdita portalis (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae)". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 84 (5): 537–548. doi:10.1093/aesa/84.5.537.
- ^ Robert John Paxton (2005). "Male mating behaviour and mating systems of bees: an overview". Apidologie. 36 (2): 145–pp 156. doi:10.1051/apido:2005007.
- ^ B. N. Danforth (1999). "Emergence dynamics and bet hedging in a desert bee, Perdita portalis". Proc Biol Sci. 266 (1432): 1985–1994. doi:10.1098/rspb.1999.0876. PMC 1690308.