This is the second largest family of bees
This photo is evidence of why everyone should have a native wildflower garden at home. On the day I took this photo, there were dozens of different species, including: butterflies, moths, beetles, and bees. My wife and I planted this wildflower garden in the second year that we lived in our house. It now comes back to year after year with native wildflowers. All sorts of animals and insects enjoy the many flowers that come up throughout the year.
The bee seen here is a bicolored striped sweat bee. Its scientific name is Agapostemon virescens. It belongs to the Halictidae family of bees. This is the second largest family of bees. There are nearly 4500 species within this family. It is more commonly known as the sweat bee family. These bees are often attracted to perspiration, thereby giving them their name. You can find sweat peas throughout the world. The only continent that they are not found on is Antarctica. As his evidenced in this be, they are known to have metallic colors and patterns.
Bicolored striped sweat bees are eusocial. This is a type of sociality. It is defined by a few characteristics: cooperative brood care, overlapping generations within a colony of adults, and a division of labor between reproductive and non-reproductive groups. This is seen as the highest form of sociality. The bicolored striped sweat bee will nest underground, where multiple females are known to share a single burrow.
The Halictidae family has some interesting traits. There are several genera and species that are kleptoparasites of other bees. This means that they will still food from other bees. There are also some crepuscular species. These species are only active at dusk or the early evening. Being active only in the evening is called “vespertine”. There are some sweat bees that are important to the pollination of crops. The alkali bee is an important pollinator in the United States of America’s alfalfa crop.
Being active only in the evening is called “vespertine”
Did you know?
- The bicolored striped sweat bee is the official bee of the city of Toronto.
- With this species of bee, only the females can deliver a sting.
- Sweat bees have many different nesting behaviors: solitary, communal, semi-social, and primitively eusocial.
- Most of the sweat bees in the Halictidae family have short tongues!
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