#METALLIC SWEAT BEE SERIES#

The larva will pupate and emerge as adults. When the larva emerges from the egg, it consumes the pollen provision until the food is gone. In the spring or summer, the females emerge, mate if they have not already done so, and begin digging nests and provisioning cells with pollen and nectar. Metallic Green Sweat Bees overwinter as prepupae. All Metallic Green Sweat Bees are mass provisioners that is, they provision each cell with all the food (pollen and nectar) a larva will need until it emerges.

#METALLIC SWEAT BEE SERIES#

When and where do they breed and nest? Most Metallic Green Sweat Bees will nest underground, creating a series of cells. They forage for pollen and nectar among flowers in fields, gardens, grasslands, roadsides, and other open places where flowers are abundant. And these species are common throughout the eastern United States.

Where do they take up residence? Metallic Green Sweat Bees are found worldwide. Adults, like many other bees, eat nectar and pollen, while pollinating flowers in the process. What’s for dinner? The Metallic Green Sweat Bees larvae feed on pollen and nectar. Metallic Green Sweat Bees are famous for their tendency to land on humans to obtain moisture and salts from perspiration - think sports beverages for insects. How else do they behave? Metallic Green Sweat Bees are solitary insects. What are their flight patterns? Metallic Green Sweat Bees are fast and agile in flight – if you can see this small bee. How big are they? Many Metallic Green Sweat Bees are quite small. Where can they be found at Carillon Stonegate Pond? Metallic Green Sweat Bees can be found during summer on various sunflowers and other wildflowers around Carillon Stonegate Pond. The female is all green, from head to thorax to abdomen, while the male (right) is green on the head and thorax but not on the abdomen. Males and females are easily distinguishable. The majority of species are dull to metallic black, with the remaining species being metallic green, blue or purple.

While a select few are robust, most are slender bees. Halictid bees can vary greatly in appearance. All have short tongues, compared to other types of bees. Their markings vary from green to red to yellow, often with bands similar to those of honeybees. What to look for? Most members of this family are black or brown, but some are brightly colored, notably with metallic greens and blues.

'Submarines' of Carillon Stonegate Pond.

Metallic sweat bee