Melissodes spp. are small to medium sized bees, ranging from 7.5 to 18 mm long. They are robust with fuzzy yellow hairs and conspicuous hairy legs. The front part of the female's face is usually yellow. Like most bees in the tribe Eucerini, males have long antennae. Males are long-bodied, while females have short antennae and are round-bodied. These bees are restricted to the New World.

Melissodes spp are generally solitary bees. Solitary bees usually build and live in individual nests rather than in a hive or with a colony of bees, while social or communal bees do live colonially in hives or bee communities.