Bug FAQSpine-shouldered Cellophane Bee
Colletes simulans · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Colletidae
No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
The spine-shouldered cellophane bee is the common name for Colletes simulans. It lives in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Colletes simulans is known as the spine-shouldered cellophane bee.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
This species is found in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 43 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Utah, New York, Michigan, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Arizona, Maine.
AKMEVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILWIMINYRIMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTCAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
JFMAMJJASOND
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Colletidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colletes_simulans
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.