Augochlora pura | |
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Female Augochlora pura | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Halictidae |
Genus: | Augochlora |
Species: | A. pura |
Binomial name | |
Augochlora pura (Say, 1837) | |
Synonyms | |
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Augochlora pura is a solitary sweat bee found primarily in the Eastern United States. It is known for its bright green color and its tendency to forage on a variety of plants. Inhabiting rotting logs, this bee can produce up to three generations per year. Both males and females have been observed licking sweat from human skin, most likely seeking salt [1]
Augochlora pura was recently suggested the common name Pure Green Sweat Bee, but about it has been written that "...it does not seem to need one with such a musical scientific designation that means 'pure golden green.'" [2]
Within Halictidae, 4 subfamilies, 81 genera, [3] and over 4,000 species have been defined. About 1,000 of the species in the genera Halictus , Lasioglossum , Augochlora , and Augochlorella , are eusocial. [4]
Both males and females are approximately 8 mm long. Over most of the range of the species, their entire bodies are a shiny, bright green, in contrast to many Lasioglossum species such as L. zephyrus , which are a dull metallic green. [5] Male Augochlora pura tend to have darker mandibles and may be slightly more bluish than females, but otherwise, males and females are similar. [6] Both sexes are a deep blue metallic color in Florida, and this color form was previously treated as a separate taxon, Augochlora pura mosieri. [7]
A. pura is found mainly in the eastern United States. It ranges from Maine through Minnesota south through Texas and Florida. A. pura has been documented as far north as Quebec. Its active season is February through November, with the longer seasons in the more southern states. [6] A. pura builds its nests in rotting wood in forests and even wood piles in suburbia. It spends most of its time near its nests, but also visits nearby brush and pastures. [8] According to a study on the bottomland hardwood forest of the southeastern United States, A. pura accounted for about 91% of bees collected in the area. [9]
Augochlora pura has a flight season from early April through September, but nests are active only from early May to early August. Unlike other halictids, A. pura does not take flight in response to warm days later in the fall. There are two to three generations per year in nature, as limited by the seasons, but bees in the laboratory have been shown to produce at least six generations per year. There is no reason to believe these generations would not continue indefinitely. In nature, females become active in August and September, mate, and remain in a state of ovarian diapause on moist soil beneath rotting logs. In contrast, all males die in the fall. Overwintered females found new nests in April. Their offspring emerge in June, and proceed to found nests of their own by the end of the month. Males tend to emerge from the first cells built, and females emerge shortly thereafter. [8] Males in the laboratory live on average about 14.88 days. [10]
Augochlora pura uses the burrows of other insects as its own burrow starting points, and makes a variety of architectural structures within the xylem and phloem of fallen trees. Depending on the availability of resources, they may construct cluster nests with superimposed horizontal layers, platform nests with all cells within one plane, and tunnel nests with single or chainlike rows. Nests are often intermediates of these three types. Cells begin as wood fragments supported by the floor or ceiling. Then, this framework is coated with substrate and finally a waxy coating. [8] This waxy coating is thought to be the product of an enzyme-mediated polyesterification of secretions of the Dufour's gland. [11]
As solitary bees, A. pura females do not remain in their mother's nest if she is alive. However, there may be times in which A. pura females group together. When the mother is old or deceased, multiple young females may live as a group. Multiple females have also been seen huddled together while overwintering. There is no worker caste, and reproductive females are not cooperative. Bees attempting to enter a nest that does not belong to them will be promptly attacked. Mothers have even been observed to attack their own offspring. If nests meet by chance, a wall is quickly constructed between them. [8] Males return to the same sleeping places each night, and may sleep in groups of up to six males, but only if sleeping places are limited. In this case, all males sleeping together face the same direction. [8] Males enter vacant nests and attack any other males attempting to enter. [10]
A. pura is able to avoid destroying new cells. They differentiate them from other walls of the burrows through the odor of fresh pollen in combination with the shape and texture of new cells. They are thought to be able to feel the texture and integrity of walls to determine their composition. [12]
Augochlora pura mates while visiting flowers. All, or nearly all, females mate. [8] Males fly in swarms and hover over flowers. They fly from flower to flower and feed, and land on any similarly sized insect on a flower. In fact, they even pounce on black dots on paper. [13] When a male finds a receptive female, he mates with her for from three seconds through two minutes. Instead of pursuing females in the air, A. pura males wait for them to land on flowers. As in Lasioglossum zephyrum , the odors of A. pura females function as aphrodisiacs. [13] Males have been observed to stack themselves on top of a copulating male, attempting to mate with that one female. Augochlora pura males have been observed to stroke the female's head with their antennae before and during copulation. During copulation, the male will release his grasp and remain connected only by his genitalia. Females may attempt to crawl or bite the male's metasoma. Copulation in the field lasts for approximately 28.5 seconds. Males have not been shown to have a preference for either young or old females. [13]
Females behave rhythmically during their nesting phase. They construct cells, one at a time, during the night. They forage throughout the morning, feeding on nectar first, and then collecting pollen. Then, they spend their afternoons forming balls of provisions, performing oviposition, and capping cells. If guarding occurs, it tends to happen during midday or the afternoon. [8]
Augochlora pura is known for its economy of labor. It can build its cells in various arrangements depending on environmental constraints. Steps in the cell construction process are sometimes omitted. For example, the primary cell construction is skipped if an old cell can be utilized. This plasticity is pivotal to the parasitic and social behaviors of halictids. [8]
Augochlora pura forages on a variety of flowers, including more inconspicuous flowers like walnut. They have been observed visiting over 40 distinct species. In the laboratory, A. pura even foraged for nectar, pollen, or both at foreign flowers not found near their natural habitat. A female collect pollen from up to ten flowers to provision a single cell, and these are often from different species. [8] Males exhibit patrolling behavior. They fly between specific flowers, and maintain this route continuously with only short rests. They fly so quickly that they may be difficult to follow visually. [10]
Inside rotten logs, A. pura has been seen to associate with nests of another bee species, Lasioglossum coeruleum .
A. pura utilize the powdered wood produced by passalid beetles when constructing their nests. [8]
Many A. pura found dead in the spring are covered with the fungus Fusarium . It is unclear whether the fungus was actually the cause of death. [8]
Parasitic nematodes of the species Aduncospiculum halicti have been discovered in the Dufour's gland and genital tract of both males and females. [15]
Halictidae is the second-largest family of bees with nearly 4,500 species. They are commonly called sweat bees, as they are often attracted to perspiration. Halictid species are an extremely diverse group that can vary greatly in appearance. These bees occur all over the world and are found on every continent except Antarctica. Usually dark-colored and often metallic, halictids are found in various sizes, colors and patterns. Several species are all or partly green and a few are red, purple, or blue. A number of them have yellow markings, especially the males, which commonly have yellow faces, a pattern widespread among the various families of bees. The family is one of many with short tongues and is best distinguished by the arcuate basal vein found on the wing. Females in this family tend to be larger than the males. They are the group for which the term 'eusocial' was first coined by entomologist, Suzanne Batra.
Halictus rubicundus, the orange-legged furrow bee, is a species of sweat bee found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. H. rubicundus entered North America from the Old World during one of two main invasions of Halictus subgenera. These invasions likely occurred via the Bering land bridge at times of low sea level during the Pleistocene epoch.
Lasioglossum malachurum, the sharp-collared furrow bee, is a small European halictid bee. This species is obligately eusocial, with queens and workers, though the differences between the castes are not nearly as extreme as in honey bees. Early taxonomists mistakenly assigned the worker females to a different species from the queens. They are small, shiny, mostly black bees with off-white hair bands at the bases of the abdominal segments. L. malachurum is one of the more extensively studied species in the genus Lasioglossum, also known as sweat bees. Researchers have discovered that the eusocial behavior in colonies of L. malachurum varies significantly dependent upon the region of Europe in which each colony is located.
The genus Agapostemon is a common group of Western Hemisphere sweat bees.
Agapostemon texanus is a species of bee found in North America. Commonly known as the metallic green sweat bee or the Texas striped sweat bee, it varies greatly in its appearance, with variations in color and in the amount of black markings on the legs.
Anthidium maculosum is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae, the leaf-cutter, carder, or mason bees. It is a solitary bee where the males are territorial and the females take part in polyandry. The males of A. maculosum differ from most other males of bee species because the males are significantly larger than females. In addition, subordinate males that act as satellites are smaller than territory-owning males. This species can be found predominately in Mexico and the United States.
Within the insect order Hymenoptera, the Halictinae are the largest, most diverse, and most recently diverged of the four halictid subfamilies. They comprise over 2400 bee species belonging to the five taxonomic tribes Augochlorini, Thrinchostomini, Caenohalictini, Sphecodini, and Halictini, which some entomologists alternatively organize into the two tribes Augochlorini and Halictini.
Lasioglossum zephyrus is a sweat bee of the family Halictidae, found in the U.S. and Canada. It appears in the literature primarily under the misspelling "zephyrum". It is considered a primitively eusocial bee, although it may be facultatively solitary. The species nests in burrows in the soil.
Halictus ligatus is a species of sweat bee from the family Halictidae, among the species that mine or burrow into the ground to create their nests. H. ligatus, like Lasioglossum zephyrus, is a primitively eusocial bee species, in which aggression is one of the most influential behaviors for establishing hierarchy within the colony, and H. ligatus exhibits both reproductive division of labor and overlapping generations.
Megalopta genalis is a species of the family Halictidae, otherwise known as the sweat bees. The bee is native to Central and South America. Its eyes have anatomical adaptations that make them 27 times more sensitive to light than diurnal bees, giving it the ability to be nocturnal. However, its eyes are not completely different from other diurnal bees, but are still apposition compound eyes. The difference therefore lies purely in adaptations to become nocturnal, increasing the success of foraging and minimizing the danger of doing so from predation. This species has served as a model organism in studies of social behavior and night vision in bees.
Lasioglossum cressonii is a species in the sweat bee genus Lasioglossum, family Halictidae. Halictidae exhibit eusocial hierarchy behavior which is interesting given that eusociality in this group is hard to evolve and easy to lose. L. cressonii is found throughout North America. L. cressonii have been shown to be important pollinators for apple trees and many other North American native plants.
Lasioglossum hemichalceum, which has sometimes been confused with L. erythrurum, is a sweat bee endemic to Australia. Large numbers of unrelated females will typically share a single nest, a behavior referred to as "communal". Nests are constructed underground by the independent efforts of the females. L. hemichalceum will typically begin creating new colonies during the summer, with brood production from late November through the first few months of spring. Members of this species do not demonstrate aggressive behavior towards one another. As the size of the colony increases, the reproductive potential of each female does not change, unlike many species of bees.
Lasioglossum figueresi, formerly known as Dialictus figueresi, is a solitary sweat bee that is part of the family Halictidae of the order Hymenoptera. Found in Central America, it nests in vertical earthen banks which are normally inhabited by one, though sometimes two or even three, females. Females die before their larvae hatch. It was named after José Figueres Ferrer, a famous Costa Rican patriot, and studies of its behavior are now general models for social behavior studies.
Lasioglossum aeneiventre, also known as Dialictus aeneiventre, is a social sweat bee and is part of the family Halictidae of the order Hymenoptera. Found in Central America, it nests mostly on flat ground though sometimes in vertical banks. It is often compared to L. figueresi.
Lasioglossum leucozonium, also known as Lasioglossum similis, is a widespread solitary sweat bee found in North America, Europe, Asia, and parts of northern Africa. While now a common bee in North America, population genetic analysis has shown that it is actually an introduced species in this region. This population was most likely founded by a single female bee.
Halictus sexcinctus, commonly referred to as the six-banded furrow bee, is a species of sweat bee found throughout Europe and as far east as Asian Turkey and Iraq. The H. sexcinctus can be easily confused with the closely related species, Halictus scabiosae, due to very similar morphological features. H. sexcinctus show a social polymorphism in which different colonies can exhibit solitary, communal, or eusocial structure. Due to this large variance in social organization, it was suspected that it was not one species at all, but rather multiple, cryptic species. However, genetic analysis was able to confirm these varying populations as one species. H. sexcinctus will forage from multiple flower species, but prefers plant species with wide-open flowers. Their nests can be found dug into the ground in loamy or sandy soil.
Dialictus is a subgenus of sweat bees belonging to the genus Lasioglossum. Most of the members of this subgenus have a metallic appearance, while some are non-metallic. There are over 630 species worldwide. They are commonly found in the Northern Hemisphere and are found in abundance in North America. Members of this subgenus also have very diverse forms of social structure making them model organisms for studying the social behavior of bees.
Augochlorella is a genus in the bee family Halictidae, commonly called sweat bees. They display metallic coloration, ranging from reddish to gold to bluish green, as is typical for other genera in the tribe Augochlorini.
Lasioglossum sordidum, also referred to as the small native bee, is one of the smallest native bees found in New Zealand.
Augochlorella aurata is a primitively eusocial species of sweat bee in the family Halictidae. It is one of three species of Augochlorella found east of the Rocky Mountains in North America. The body is a brilliant green metallic color, diffused to varying extents with a copper, red, or yellow color. A. aurata is a generalist pollen feeder and likely an important pollinator for some horticultural crops. A common name is golden green sweat bee.