Anthophila
Guides
Halictidae
sweat bees, halictid bees
Halictidae is the second-largest family of bees with nearly 4,500 described species worldwide. Commonly called sweat bees, many species are attracted to human perspiration to obtain dissolved salts and electrolytes. The family exhibits remarkable diversity in social organization, ranging from solitary to primitively eusocial species, and includes the taxon for which the term "eusocial" was originally coined. Halictids are important pollinators of wildflowers and some agricultural crops.