Long-horned bees
Melissodes spp.
Bee
Genus-level entry for the solitary, ground-nesting long-horned bees, named for the strikingly long antennae of males. Females forage heavily on the sunflower family (Asteraceae) - many species are oligolectic specialists on composites such as sunflowers, asters, and coneflowers - making them important late-season pollinators of native Asteraceae and of sunflower-family crops. They are most active in late summer and fall, when composite blooms peak; males famously roost overnight by gripping flower stems with their jaws.
Plan for this species
Location-fit plant set for Chicago, IL: host and specialist plants first, then nectar, fruit, seed, foliage, and shelter plants that still fit the current and mid-century climate read.
0 essential relationships / 6 supporting plants
Host/specialist links: 0
Forage/pollination links: 6
Shelter links: 0
Relationship roles: 1
Aromatic aster
Supporting / Pollen plants
Black-eyed Susan
Supporting / Pollen plants
Boneset
Supporting / Pollen plants
Canada goldenrod
Supporting / Pollen plants
Cutleaf coneflower
Supporting / Pollen plants
Dense blazing star
Supporting / Pollen plants
Plants in the catalog
Pollen plants · 19
Melissodes and their relatives are the classic sunflower-family specialists of North America, and a dry, sunny, seed-setting composite colony is their habitat description. No source cited here names them on Coreopsis lanceolata, so the listing rests on the plant family and the Xerces flag rather than on an observation record.
Melissodes species are the summer-flying long-horned bees of eastern and central North America, and a large share of them are Asteraceae specialists whose flight season is built around exactly this run of midsummer yellow composites. That makes them the most interesting likely visitor on this record and the reason the plant earns a pollinator design role. Recorded as plausible rather than as a specialist relationship because no source consulted names a bee genus on this species.
Melissodes and their relatives are the summer long-horned bees of North American grassland and a large share of them are Asteraceae specialists, active at exactly the midsummer window this plant occupies. Wikipedia names long-tongued bees among the pollinators, which is the group these belong to, but stops short of naming genera - hence plausible. If a meadow sowing of plains coreopsis is doing conservation work for any one group of bees, this is the likeliest candidate.
Range
Native to the Americas, with roughly 129 described species ranging from Canada south to Argentina; less common in the tropics.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
Use this citation for the Plotwright wildlife record. Use the source cards below to explore the references that informed its taxonomy, range, conservation, host plants, foraging, and habitat.
Plotwright. (n.d.). Long-horned bees (Melissodes spp.). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/long-horned-bees
Sources used for this record
This record is compiled from the sources below.
Wikipedia: Melissodes
Genus reference for Melissodes taxonomy, Americas range, ground-nesting habit, male long antennae, and frequent Asteraceae specialization.
GBIF: Melissodes
GBIF backbone entry for the genus Melissodes, corroborating genus-level taxonomy and its Americas occurrence range.
iNaturalist: Melissodes
iNaturalist genus taxon page for Melissodes, corroborating genus identity and observed range across the Americas.
Xerces Society: Clear Space for Bees
Xerces Society garden guidance that names long-horned bees (Melissodes) among ground-nesting native bees and explains how to keep bare-ground nesting habitat for them.