Illustrated Woolcarder Bee

Anthidium illustre · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Megachilidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Illustrated Woolcarder Bee
Photo: Hawk T., CC BY

The illustrated woolcarder bee, Anthidium illustre, belongs to the Megachilidae family of leaf-cutter, carder, and mason bees. It is native to Middle America and North America. Synonyms for this species include Anthidium serranum and Callanthidium illustre.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range includes Middle America and North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 8 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Florida.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Illustrated Woolcarder Bee photo 2
Photo: Rachel Lee Harper, CC BY
Illustrated Woolcarder Bee photo 3
Photo: Hawk T., CC BY
Illustrated Woolcarder Bee photo 4
Photo: Ernesto Chavez-Velasco, CC BY
Illustrated Woolcarder Bee photo 5
Photo: Casey H. Richart, CC BY

Same family (Megachilidae)

European Woolcarder BeeEuropean Woolcarder BeeAnthidium manicatumRed Mason BeeRed Mason BeeOsmia bicornisCan stingEuropean Orchard BeeEuropean Orchard BeeOsmia cornutaSculptured Resin BeeSculptured Resin BeeMegachile sculpturalisOblong Woolcarder BeeOblong Woolcarder BeeAnthidium oblongatumFlat-tailed Leafcutter BeeFlat-tailed Leafcutter BeeMegachile mendica

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthidium_illustre

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.