Metallic-bees
Guides
Augochlora
green sweat bees
Augochlora is a genus of small, metallic sweat bees in the family Halictidae, comprising approximately 127 valid species distributed from southern Canada to Argentina. The genus exhibits remarkable social flexibility, with most species showing facultative eusociality while at least one species, Augochlora pura, is exclusively solitary. Members nest primarily in decaying wood, though some species utilize soil. The genus is divided into three subgenera: Augochlora s. str., Oxystoglossella (formerly Oxystoglossa), and the extinct Electraugochlora known from Miocene Dominican amber.
Augochlorella
sweat bees
Augochlorella is a genus of small, metallic sweat bees in the family Halictidae. Members are distinguished from related genera by microscopic wing venation and head structure. The genus exhibits flexible sociality, with some populations forming eusocial colonies while others remain solitary depending on environmental conditions. Augochlorella aurata is among the most common bees in eastern North America and serves as an important pollinator of wildflowers and agricultural crops.
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.