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Project Noah Nature School
Bright metallic green bee of the Family Halictidae. Approximately 8 mm long. They are also called Sweat Bees because some very small species will land on you to collect droplets of sweat. When numerous, it can be disconcerting.
Overgrown field, semi-urban area on the outskirts of the city, 2,200 meters.
Most halictid bees are solitary and create underground nests for their offspring. However, halictid bees are especially interesting to biologists because many species have evolved to live in social colonies recently in evolutionary history. Closely related halictid bee species are known to be social in one habitat and solitary in another. These patterns can help biologists study the origins of social behavior among insects. Some Kentucky halictid bee species show intermediate social behavior: several individual bees create nests near one another but do not work together.
Spotted on Dec 27, 2012
Submitted on Dec 28, 2012
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