#squash bee

Photo by Xer S. Rowan, Creative Commons Attribution license

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Bug of the Week #003 – Pruinose Squash Bee (Xenoglossa pruinosa)

Family: Honeybee Family (Apidae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Unassessed

Like other North American bees known as squash bees, the Pruinose Squash Bee is a highly specialised bee that feeds specifically on the pollen and nectar of squashes in the genus  Cucurbita, including Cucurbita pepo (the cultivated species of squash that gives us, among other important culinary gourds, pumpkins.) While their favourite flowers seem to be those of the wild Buffalo Gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima) members of this species will also readily feed from the flowers of cultivated Cucurbita species and as such play a major role in facilitating the growth of butternut squashes, courgettes/zucchinis, pumpkins and marrows, among many other widely-farmed gourds (although they seem generally uninterested in the flowers of gourds of other genera, such as Cucumis (muskmelons and cucumbers) and Citrullus (watermelons).) Widespread across North America and found in most regions where Cucurbita species are present, Pruinose Squash Bees are often seen gathering in large numbers around flowers when feeding but do not live in the cooperative colonies seen in other bee species; females construct simple burrows near the bases of squash plants in which they store food and lay eggs, while the short-lived males spend most of their lives perched in squash flowers attempting to court passing females.

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Photos by Xer S. Rowan, Creative Commons Attribution license

Squash Bee (Genera: Peponapis and Xenoglossa)

Squash bees, like Xenoglossa strenua, pollinate cucurbit plants.