Hylaeus

Hylaeus are small, shiny cosmopolitan bees. Both sexes are almost completely hairless with a characteristic pattern of yellow or whitish markings on the face, thorax, and legs, which contrast sharply with their predominantly black cuticles. Females usually have a pair of light-colored markings on each side of the face that vary in shade, shape and size depending on the species. Males emerge earlier than the females and have almost completely light-colored, mask-like faces. Unlike other wild bees, they lack pollen brushes and carry their supplies internally in their crop, mixing both pollen and nectar. This mixture is then regurgitated into the brood cells as liquid provisions for the larvae. All local species are solitary and can be observed mostly in summer.