Bug FAQMojave Poppy Bee
Perdita meconis · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Andrenidae
Historically the bee ranged across southwest Utah, northwest Arizona and southern Nevada, but today it is known from only seven fragmented sites in Nevada.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Females show the same head colors as males but with less extensive pale yellow.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Male Mojave poppy bees are about 5 mm long with forewings around 4 mm. Female Mojave poppy bees are larger, 6.5 to 7 mm long with forewings 4.5 to 5 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
Its range is limited to areas where the preferred poppies grow and suitable nesting substrate is present.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Their current range is limited to seven highly fragmented sites in Nevada.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It is oligolectic, forming a mutualistic relationship with plants in the genus Las Vegas bear-poppy and dwarf bear-poppy.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
It is a solitary bee belonging to the genus Perdita.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Climate change is causing a mismatch between poppy flowering times and the bee’s active period. A petition has asked that the remaining habitat be designated as critical habitat for its survival.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Formerly they occurred in the southwest corner of Utah, the northwest region of Arizona, and southern Nevada near Las Vegas.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 3 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Nevada, Arizona, California.
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
Source: GBIF
Questions people ask
Where is the Mojave poppy bee found?
Historically it lived in southwest Utah, northwest Arizona and southern Nevada, but now it is known from only a few sites in Nevada.
Source: Wikipedia
How big are Mojave poppy bees?
Males are about 5 mm long with 4 mm forewings; females are 6.5 to 7 mm long with 4.5 to 5 mm forewings.
Source: Wikipedia
What does the Mojave poppy bee look like?
It has a dark-green head wider than long with light yellow mandibles and face; females show the same colors but with less pale yellow.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Andrenidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdita_meconis
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.