Splashy, orange, big. This is a get out your cell phone and take my picture sort of bee. Eucera fulvohirta is its scientific name and my name for it is Fuzzy Orange Big Bee (clever, no?). Anyway no one would pass up taking this bee's picture yet there is nary a one on iNaturalist nor Bugguide and Discoverlife shows only 3 actual collection records (1 by Ted Mitchell from the 20s and 2 from the 60's). So, safe to say, this bee is rare. Why is it rare? Mitchell says it has been found on Eleagnus and Vicia...not much to go on other than they are dangly long corolla Eucera type of plants. So, we must mount an expedition just like days of old and hunt the rare Fuzzy Orange Big Bee and study it all up. This is the only recent record I know of (but there must be others) collected by Sabrie Breland in the flatlands of South Georgia. Photo by Sara Guerrieri. Surely a donor exists who would sponsor a grad student to prevent the Fuzzy Orange Big Bee from disappearing?
