Hylaeus in Hawaii
Hylaeus in Hawaii |
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Hylaeus facilisIslands: Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, MauiLocations: Maui - (Kokomo) Habitats: Coast to mountains. Dry shrubland to wet forest Plants: None Xerces: Hylaeus facilis is a formerly widespread bee endemic to the islands of Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, and Maui in Hawaii. It is distinguished by its single, central face mark and unusually large gonoforceps. One of the most common species collected in the early 1900s, it has been found very rarely in recent decades. Species Profile 
Insects of Hawaii: Medium-sized bees with smoky wings. Male face with oval yellow mark, legs not marked with yellow or obscurely so, unusual lateral process of S8 long and broad, median process of S8 not dilated and with long narrow tips, unusual gonoforceps expanded apically beyond the penis valves and with pubescence not extended around apex to inner angle. Closely related to H. chlorostictus and H. simplex. Colors of the female integument and pubescence are based on old specimens. Apparently the most common dryland species in Perkins time, H. facilis and its sister species H. simplex seem to have almost completely disappeared, despite continued flourishing of H. difficilis and H. laetus in these habitats. Although it may (like other longuncollected species) survive in numbers at unvisited locales, there is no question that it has been extirpated from much of its range. Females of this species and H. simplex tend to be slightly larger and with slightly shorter hair than H. difficilis, but cannot be reliably distinguished. However, given the steep decline in the former two species, any female keying to these three can be assumed to be H. difficilis unless an associated male is found. Insects of Hawaii Volume 17
UH/DOD: Hylaeus near military lands
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