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Ptiloglossa is a small American genus within the bee family Colletidae, consisting of generally large, hairy species which are temporally-specialized crepuscular pollinators (active only at sundown, or vespertine, or more typically, at pre-dawn, or matinal), and they often utilize a pollen-extraction behavior known as buzz pollination. They have greatly enlarged ocelli to assist them in flying under very low light levels. They are most diverse in South and Central America (30 or more species), with at least one species, Ptiloglossa arizonensis, occurring in the US. Like most colletids, these bees have liquid larval provisions sealed inside a membranous, cellophane-like cell lining, and it is believed that yeasts in the liquid may act as the primary protein source.
