Scopa (biology)

A scopa (plural scopae; Latin for "broom") is any of a number of different modifications on the body of a non-parasitic bee that form a pollen-carrying apparatus.

In most species of bees, the scopa is simply a dense mass of elongated, often branched, hairs (or setae) on the hind leg.

A few bees have, in addition to the leg hairs, many modified hairs on the ventral surface of the abdomen which are also used in pollen transport; one family of bees, the Megachilidae, lack modified leg hairs, but have an extensive scopa on the underside of the abdomen (see photo).

Honey bees and bumblebees have a more highly-developed structure than the scopa: the corbicula, or pollen basket.

The term "scopa" is restricted to hairs adapted to the transport of pollen.