55: Wool Carder Bee

I write to you from Arapahoe, Ute, and Cheyenne land. I am interested in learning about the different animals that live in the place where I was born. Before we start with today’s animal, I want to emphasize that biological classification as understood by western society has its roots in racism, sexism, and transphobia – here’s a good explainer about why.

Today’s animal is an invasive species first seen in Colorado in 2005 and now endemic, though still rare, to the Front Range: the European Wool Carder Bee (Anthidium Fabricus). They are so named because the females scrape very fine fibers off of leaves with their mandibles. They carry this bundled beneath their bodies to their nests, which they build in existing cavities like small holes in walls or foundations. They lay eggs and place nectar into the “wool”, creating a “cell” inside the cavity. They do this many times, and then seal the cavity using collected matter. The name just sounds so cosy! As I sit inside my cold house, I wish I was wrapped up in leaf fibers with some nectar. The provisions that the females put into the nest are exclusively from the mint family. You can probably picture the soft down that grows on mint leaves. This makes it even cosier! Mom bees, please come tuck me in with my mint tea!

These bees are solitary, with the males competing for territory. They are one of the rare bee species where the males are larger than the females, probably because of that territorial drive. The males have sharp spikes or spurs on their abdomens that they use to defend their area and they are known to hurt both other carder bees and, occasionally, honey bees. The mother bees lay the male eggs at the back of the nest, probably because they need longer to develop due to their bigger size.