About the Common Masked Bee
Hylaeus communis is a Palearctic species of solitary bee. 4.5–7 mm. Indistinguishable from other Hylaeus species in the field. From Portugal through Europe, Asia Minor and the Caucasus to Central Asia; north to Ireland and central Scotland, crosses the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia, in Norway up to 63 ° N, in Sweden up to 66 ° N, in Finland up to 67.5 ° N, in Russia up to Karelia and Kirov. In the south of the distribution area the species was often mixed up with Hylaeus deceptorius (BENOIST, 1959), so that the southern border is not unequivocally established – according to current knowledge, south to Sicily, Crete, Lebanon and northern Iran. Widespread in central Europe, from the plains to the higher elevations of the low mountain ranges and in the Alps. In central Europe very common and most common species of the genus.
As a pronounced ubiquist, the species occurs in a wide variety of habitats, both in dry and more humid locations, e.g. along forest edges, on clearings and clearcuts, in field hedges, in blackberry bushes, in sand, gravel and clay pits, on railway embankments, regularly also in residential areas in gardens, parks and on ruderal... Wikipedia →