Rufous-backed Cellophane Bee

June 11, 2026

Sample information
Picture
Entry by: Meheret D.
Location
Collection date
Captive / Cultivated? Wild-caught
Group Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Observations

A small bee with one of its wings missing and an antenna bent. The bee seems to be fuzzy with a little hump on its back. The bee was captured in the grass by a small brook near the school.
Putative identification Arthropoda Insecta Hymenoptera Colletidae

Methods
Extraction kit DNeasy (Qiagen) blood and tissue kit
DNA extraction location Abdomen
Single or Duplex PCR Single Reaction
Gel electrophoresis system MiniPCR
Buffer TBE
DNA stain SYBR Safe
Gel images
Protocol notes

To obtain the DNA, we cut a portion of the bee’s abdomen. None of the exoskeletons was included. Extraction of the soft tissue from Bee 333 went well. After extracting the DNA, we performed a Wolbachia-specific PCR amplification and analyzed the results by gel electrophoresis. Some of the mistakes in this lab may have resulted from our releasing the contents of our pipette too soon for gel electrophoresis in CO1, sending it over the well rather than into it, or pushing the pipette too deeply and accidentally puncturing the gel.

Results
Wolbachia presence No
Confidence level Medium
Explanation of confidence level

In our gel electrophoresis, the Wolbachia band for bee 333 did not light up, which would typically suggest an absence of Wolbachia. However, the gel results for the controls did not match expectations, indicating possible errors in the procedure.
Wolbachia 16S sequence
Arthropod COI sequence Download AB1
Summary The Colletidae was found to be negative for Wolbachia.
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