Modest Masked Bee

Hylaeus modestus · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Colletidae

Also called: Yellow-faced Bee

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Modest Masked Bee
Photo: unknown, CC0

The modest masked bee builds its nests in stems and cavities. It lives in North America. It forages on a wide variety of foods.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Nests in stems and cavities.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Generalist forager.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Found in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 48 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio.

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

Source: GBIF

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

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Modest Masked Bee photo 3
Photo: Healthy Yards, CC BY
Modest Masked Bee photo 4
Photo: Amy Schnebelin, CC BY
Modest Masked Bee photo 5
Photo: Healthy Yards, CC BY
Modest Masked Bee photo 6
Photo: Albert Cardona, CC BY

Same family (Colletidae)

Unequal Cellophane BeeUnequal Cellophane BeeColletes inaequalisIvy Cellophane BeeIvy Cellophane BeeColletes hederaeEarly Cellophane BeeEarly Cellophane BeeColletes cuniculariusRufous-backed Cellophane BeeRufous-backed Cellophane BeeColletes thoracicusSlender-faced Masked BeeSlender-faced Masked BeeHylaeus leptocephalusSpine-shouldered Cellophane BeeSpine-shouldered Cellophane BeeColletes simulans

Sources

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

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

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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.