[1] Its eyes have anatomical adaptations that make them 27 times more sensitive to light than diurnal bees, giving it the ability to be nocturnal.

[2] The difference therefore lies purely in adaptations to become nocturnal, increasing the success of foraging and minimizing the danger of doing so from predation.

[2] This species has served as a model organism in studies of social behavior and night vision in bees.

The adult female bee places a loaf of pollen in each cell and lays an egg on top.

[5] They live in the range between Mexico and Southern Brazil, and are therefore often studied in the Republic of Panama and northern Colombia, where they are largely prevalent.

[2] This bee collects pollen from tropical plants in its habitat, including kapok (Ceiba pentandra), pochote (Pachira quinata), hog plums (Spondias spp.

[7] The nests are founded by individual queen bees, who then raise their first brood on their own before increasing the colony size.

[1] Specialized anatomical differences in the eyes, such as larger facets, make them 27 times more sensitive to light than those of diurnal bees.

[2] Cells in the eyes are especially sensitive to the polarization of light that occurs during twilight hours, the time when the bee is active.

[15] M. genalis actually uses a neural summation of previous experiences in order to improve the reliability of their vision in dim light.

[15] They use this data stored in their brains in order to precisely land and fly long distances in large changes of light.

[2] In M. genalis, the bee exchanges liquid food through a process called trophallaxis, which has indications for social status.

[8] This supports the idea that social behavior is an evolved adaptation, as food is still equally shared in two-bee colonies.

[13] Even when the foundress rears female offspring, she can still exhibit solitary behavior if the other bees leave to establish their own colonies.

[13] Since the foundress has to create an environment for her own nest, all bees of the species experience foraging behavior at some point.

[13] This replacement bee is capable of being just as successful in reproducing as the original queen, showing that colony status is determined by social competition and is not predetermined.

[13] In addition, it is possible that the queen bee can suppress the environment of the daughters in its colony to ensure that they are sterile and are not competition while she is still able to reproduce.

[16] Megalopta genalis is widely studied for its facultatively social behavior, especially in terms of its parental manipulation that demonstrates the effect of environmental factors on development of offspring.

[17] They do this by limiting their larval food intake of pollen, which ensures that the female offspring will be smaller in size as an adult.

[10] The beetle is thought to rear its offspring in the nests of the bee species, allowing them develop to adulthood there.

[9] While social colonies may be beneficial in this defense behavior, it is not necessary because of the initial guarding of the constricted entrance to the nest that a solitary female could do alone.