Slender-faced Masked Bee

Hylaeus leptocephalus · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Colletidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Slender-faced Masked Bee
Photo: Amy Schnebelin, CC BY

The slender-faced masked bee belongs to the family Colletidae. It originates from the Palearctic region. Since 1912 it has also been recorded in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Hylaeus leptocephalus is a hymenopteran in the family Colletidae.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It is native to the Palearctic region.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 39 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, New York, North Dakota, Utah, Missouri, New Jersey, Maryland, California.

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

Source: GBIF

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

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Slender-faced Masked Bee photo 3
Photo: Amy Schnebelin, CC BY
Slender-faced Masked Bee photo 4
Photo: nina fogel, CC BY
Slender-faced Masked Bee photo 5
Photo: Amy Schnebelin, CC BY
Slender-faced Masked Bee photo 6
Photo: carbenoid, CC BY

Same family (Colletidae)

Unequal Cellophane BeeUnequal Cellophane BeeColletes inaequalisIvy Cellophane BeeIvy Cellophane BeeColletes hederaeModest Masked BeeModest Masked BeeHylaeus modestusEarly Cellophane BeeEarly Cellophane BeeColletes cuniculariusRufous-backed Cellophane BeeRufous-backed Cellophane BeeColletes thoracicusSpine-shouldered Cellophane BeeSpine-shouldered Cellophane BeeColletes simulans

Sources

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

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

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

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.