A Solitary Bee
Centris sp.
Visiting flowers of Texas Mountain Laurel (Calia secundiflora). Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, Arizona, 8 March 2014.
Apidae -- Bee Family
Centris bees are relatively large, fast flying bees. This one has a distinctive coat of gray and golden setae (hairs) on the thorax. It is visiting flowers of a small tree, Calia secundiflora, which is not native to the Sonoran Desert, but rather to the Chihuahuan.