Bee Basics - USDA Forest Service - US Department of Agriculture

Halictidae (sweat bees)Some of the most beautiful bees belong to this family. With their shinymetallic-colored bodies, these bees will capture your heart. Many are metallicgreen, but others have shades of color from blue to copper or gold, andsometimes even black. Most nest in the ground. Some are solitary while othersshare the entrance to their nests. In most cases, that is all they share and arenot truly social. However, a few sweat bee species go a step further and showsome division of labor in guarding the entrance to their homes and rearingtheir young. Usually they are sisters that originated from the same nest. Somespecies of sweat bees can be considered truly social; with a division of labor inwhich the mother and founder of the colony lays eggs while the daughters doall the other work.Some unusually attractive halictids (green, yellow and black-stripedAgapostemon species) are found throughout North America. One of theprettiest halictid bees is Augochlora pura (the name means the pure magnificentgreen bee) found in the eastern United States. It has the peculiar habit ofbuilding her nest under the bark of a rotted log. She takes advantage of theA colorful sweat bee, a maleAugochlorella pomoniella fromthe western States.24