Colletes collaris Transcriptome or Gene expression

The main objective of this project is to provide the first genome, transcriptome and mitochondrion assemblies of the cellophane bee Colletes collaris (Hymenoptera: Colletidae), a solitary species found throughout Eurasia. We are also interested in estimating changes in gene family size and composition for selected groups of Hymenoptera. While much effort has understandably been dedicated to sequencing the whole genomes of highly-eusocial honeybees and primitively-eusocial bumblebees, solitary bees which actually comprise roughly 90% of all bee species worldwide remain largely neglected.