| Halictus confusus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Halictidae |
| Tribe: | Halictini |
| Genus: | Halictus |
| Species: | H. confusus |
| Binomial name | |
| Halictus confusus Smith, 1853 | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
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Halictus confusus, the southern bronze furrow bee or confused sweat bee, is a species of sweat bee in the family Halictidae. It is a primitively eusocial bee species found in open habitats in Eurasia and North America.
Halictus confusus is 7 millimetres (0.28 in) in length, [1] the forewing is 5.5 millimetres (0.22 in) long. [2] Females have a greenish head and thorax, darkening to blackish on the clypeus and black on the abdomen, with metallic greenish highlights. The legs are blackish, becoming reddish distally. The head is slightly broader than long, with the eyes slightly converging ventrally and the clypeus obviously protruding. The wings are hyaline, with yellow venation, and the tegulae are yellowish anteriorly and otherwise reddish. Males are generally similar, but the mandibles, labrum, and outer third of the clypeus are yellow, the wing venation is more reddish, and the legs have a narrow outer yellowish stripe on the tibia and yellowish tarsi. [1] In Britain and Europe this species could easily be confused with Halictus tumulorum and can only be reliably separated by examining the genitalia of the males; more subtle features are that fresh female H. confusus have wider pale banding on tergites 3 and 4 while males have more yellow on the joints of the hind and middle legs. [2]
Halictus confusus is widely distributed in Europe, Asia and North America. A number of subspecies have been described, among which are: [1]
In Great Britain this species has a southerly distribution from Dorset east to Kent and north to Norfolk. [7] In North America its distribution extends from Nova Scotia to North Dakota southwards into Florida and Texas. [1]
Halictus confusus in Britain shows a strong association with sandy areas, such as sandy heaths and sand pits, [7] but in other areas this species appears to be more generalist in its habitat choices, given its wide range. [5] It is a polylectic bee which feeds on a wide variety of flowers, visiting a variety throughout the season. In one study in North America, spring beauty ( Claytonia virginica ) was favoured by the newly emerged queens, while the toothwort Cardamine concatenata was used to a lesser extent. When these woodland flowers faded in April the bees switched to dandelions as their main food source. These early plants were mainly used to immediately feed the newly active bees. When the wintercress ( Barbarea vulgaris ) began to flower abundantly in meadows and orchards this species became the main plant used, and the bees collected this pollen for provisioning their nests. When flowers became scarce in late May the bees still foraged but widened their choice of flowers visited, until they closed the nests off in June and remained in the nests with the developing brood. When the first brood of workers emerged, these and subsequent broods foraged on clover. In late summer, the last brood fed on other species of flower as the clovers faded, including Lespedeza lineata and Symphyotrichum ericoides . These late bees were reproductive females and males, the females of which would overwinter after mating. [8]
Halictus confusus nests in aggregations and exhibits a primitive form of eusociality, with castes that are behaviorally distinct but not morphologically different. The nests have the potential to develop into a matriarchy with a mother queen and daughter workers. [9] A queen will found a new nest each Spring which has a horizontal entrance tunnel beneath a mound, this entrance is guarded by the bees. [10] In this species, as in related species, the workers may become reproductively capable, and the queen's ability to prevent this depends on the size of the colony and the difference in size between the queen and the workers. [11]
Foraging adults are preyed on by crab spiders and predatory bugs while ants are the main predators of the nests, especially unguarded nests, although they may attack guarded nests by overcoming the guard bee. The main parasites of the adult females are flies of the family Conopidae, while flies of the family Phoridae will lay eggs within the nests, tailgating returning workers to get past the guards. The parasitic beetle Ripiphorus walshi is a larval parasite and its triungulin larvae attach themselves to the adults when they visit flowers and are transported back to the nest. Other parasites include fungi and nematodes. [9]
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.
Halictus scabiosae, the great banded furrow-bee, is a species of bee in the family Halictidae, the sweat bees.
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 nocturnal 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 vierecki, also known as Dialictus vierecki and Halictus vierecki, is a sand sweat bee and is part of the family Halictidae of the order Hymenoptera. It is found in the eastern half of North America from Minnesota to the New England States down to Georgia and Louisiana and up in Manitoba and Ontario. Commonly found in sandy areas, it pollinates various flowers such as grass-leaved goldenrod and rattlesnake master.
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.
Halictus tripartitus is a species of sweat bee in the family Halictidae. It is partially eusocial, with nests connected underground and some workers capable of reproducing.
Augochloropsis is a genus of brilliant metallic, often blue-green, sweat bees in the family Halictidae. There are at least 140 described species in Augochloropsis.
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.
Megalopta is a widespread neotropical genus of bees in the tribe Augochlorini in family Halictidae, known as the sweat bees. They are the largest of the five nocturnal genera in Augochlorini. Most have pale integumentary pigmentation, and all have large ocelli, most likely a feature of their nocturnal behavior. They live in tropical Central America and the entirety of South America. The subgenus Noctoraptor is cleptoparasitic. They are not known from the fossil record.
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