Anthophora

Anthophora are fast-flying, robustly built, cosmopolitan bees. The have short antennae and their dense body hair can be evenly distributed or form bands across the abdomen. Several species present strong sexual dimorphism. Females commonly have an oval shape and dense tibial scopae in the hind legs. They can forage for food while flying and some of them can even use the vibration produced by their flight muscles (“buzzing”) to collect pollen. Males of some species have rather striking features that easily distinguish them from females in the field (i.e. modified hind legs, long brush-like ornaments on the middle legs and partially white or yellow faces). Nests are usually dug in bare soil and sometimes in cavities in dead wood or hollow plant stems.