06/23/2026
🐝 Pollinator Week Spotlight: Two-spotted Longhorn Bee (Melissodes bimaculatus)
One of our most distinctive native bees in the Northeast, the Two-spotted Longhorn Bee is about the size of a honey bee and can often be identified by its striking appearance. Males are jet black with long, curly antennae, a pale cream patch on their face, and thin white hind legs. Females are larger and stockier, with shorter antennae, black faces, and dense brushes of hairs on their hind legs for carrying pollen. Females are named for the pair of white spots on the sides of their abdomen.
One of the most charming things about this species happens after dark. Male Two-spotted Longhorn Bees spend the night clinging to stems, twigs, and tall grasses hanging by their mandibles. They often return to the same sleeping perch night after night and may even roost alongside other males. Your garden could be hosting a tiny bee sleepover.
These bees visit a wide variety of flowering plants for nectar, including squash, cucumbers, black-eyed Susans, oregano, purple coneflowers, zinnias, and they especially love tubular flowers like wild bergamot, hoary vervain, and mountain mint. Females collect pollen from an impressive range of plants, including pumpkins, zucchini, and many members of the aster family like Black-eyed Susans.
Researchers have also observed an unusual preference for corn pollen. Although corn is wind-pollinated and offers no nectar reward, female Two-spotted Longhorn Bees have been seen actively collecting and packing corn pollen onto the specialized hairs of their hind legs. In this case, they are not pollinating the corn. They are simply taking advantage of a plentiful pollen resource.
Keep an eye out for these remarkable native bees in mid-summer. Whether they are gathering pollen on expected plants, nectaring on flowers, or sleeping on a grass stem, they are a reminder of how much fascinating wildlife can be found right in our gardens.
