Pure Green Augochlora

Description:

I originally spotted these beautiful bees cobbling nests in a rotting stump during October. I went back to the location a couple weeks later to check on them, and found that their stump had been completely dug up and pulverized (third photo). There was bear sign nearby, and so I'm guessing that a bear dug up the stump to feast on the treats hidden in there as there were lots of ants, bees, and larvae in the rotting stump. I did see a couple sweat bees still in their cells though, while a couple others aimlessly roamed the remains. I gathered the remaining chunks of stump and piled them back on top of the bees' galleries in an attempt to give them some protection during the cold winter.

They had brilliant green heads, thoraxes, and abdomens that were covered with small white hairs.

Habitat:

Rotting wood in a deciduous forest.

Notes:

Here is the original spotting of the bees that were living in this stump with additional information about their behavior and life cycle: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/143...