Only 1 available and it's in 2 people's carts. The sting itself is less painful than that of a honey bee, though unlike honey bees they can sting repeatedly. Identifying Traits:  Augochloropsis metallica bees have brilliant yellow-green bodies and broad, roughly hexagonal faces with green eyes and dark antennae. (Only colonies that retain the original queen throughout the second season are called “eusocial”.) • Bright, metallic green or green-blue coloring on part or all of the body • Some have white and black striped abdomens, others have green or blue abdomens • Medium body size: 5-11 mm mm Not one native bee is a state insect. All orchid bees are native to the New World tropics, from Mexico throughout Central and tropical South America. Female silky Agapostemons are industrious pollinators. Only recently have entomologists carefully studied them to reveal approximately 70 species inhabiting the PNW. Update! An identifying characteristic of this species is these little bees' tendency to curl themselves around small flower parts as they sip nectar from plants, as shown in the photos here. Augochloropsis bees are believed to have originated 16 million years ago and to have entered temperate North America 4 million years ago. But it’s so blue, turquoise even! Only a few species, divided into three genera (genuses) --  Augochlora,  Augochloropsis,  and Augochlorella -- range into the United States and Canada. This iridescent bee is found on the eastern side of North America. 2010. Tribe:   Augochlorini, A female Augochlora pura with her legs laden with red pollen. Figure 4. Bee flies do not bite or sting and are completely harmless to humans and their pets. Male bi-colored Agapostemons have abdomens striped with yellow bands, yellow legs with black markings, and partly yellow faces and mandibles. Characteristic green metallic coloration, long tongue, brush-like front tarsi, and enlarged hind tibiae are visible. Order:   Hymenoptera Photographs by Aaron Mullins, University of Florida, Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center. Hummingbirds are among the smallest types of birds and can only be found naturally in the Americas. Sweat bees shown in this guide represent six distinct sweat bee genera that can be grouped roughly by their salient characteristics:  (1)  iridescent green bees (Agapostemon, Augochlora, Augochloropsis and Augochlorella); and (2) bees that are dark in color, usually with striped abdomens (Halictus and Lasioglossum). Mature nests can contain up to 20 cells. They build nests consisting of deep vertical burrows in sloping soil and banks. Augochlora pura become highly visible in the park in May, pollinating spring wildflowers and the tree peonies in the park's Peony Monument garden. Silky Agapostemons are solitary and build their nests in the ground. Silky Agapostemons also visit a multitude of garden flowers and wildflowers, among them rhododendrons, catmint, asters, yarrow and goldenrod. Close-up of the vertex (top of head) and thorax of an Augochlora pura. Augochlorella bees are also common pollinators of apples, caneberries, strawberries, tomatoes and watermelons. The females remain in the nest as workers. (The sternum is the underside of the bee's abdomen. ) Male Augochlorella aurata show particularly great variation in color, and sometimes appear with a reddish or pink sheen (like one of the bees shown in the photo strip at right). In the second phase, the original “foundress workers” cease working and the new workers take over and provision the nest for a second brood of 8-13 males and females called reproductives. Video by Aaron Mullins, University of Florida, Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center. Sweat bees are tiny black or iridescent green bees known for their attraction to perspiring humans. Part 1 of this guide's sweat bee section focuses on green metallic sweat bees. In the first spring “foundress phase,” the bees construct an underground nest and provision it for 6-8 male and female offspring. The abdomen of the male Agapostemon sericeus (shown above) is a flat yellow-and-black. Orchids will produce scents that attract males of a particular species of bee that is the right size and shape to pollinate them. Agapostemon sericeus –  .4" - .45"  (medium-small). Following a line that runs from Tampa to West Palm Beach and south, the potential range extends tothe entire southern tip of the Florida Peninsula. Identifying Traits:  Bi-colored Agapostemons can be identified by their shiny green heads and thoraxes. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Rufous Hummingbirds are amongst the most common hummingbirds in the United States. (2) As shown in the photostrip at right, female silky Agapostemons' thoraxes have a rough texture, and their abdomens have three white hairbands, the second of which tends to be the widest. These traits are shown in the photo strip at right. Subfamily:   Halictinae The females have dark legs covered with long pale-gold hairs. Insect Detection. Metallic Green Bees have two generations per year: the summer generation which is almost all female and the fall-spring generation which includes both males and females. 2011. Note: Please understand that that insects do not adhere to man-drawn borders on a map as such they may be found beyond the … Commentary by entomologist John S. Ascher at bug-guide.net highlights the following subtle traits that help distinguish. Solitary invasive orchid bee outperforms co-occurring native bees to promote fruit set of an invasive. Current reports of this species are mostly from Broward, Palm Beach and Dade Counties. By contrast, the sixth sternal segment of Agapostemon virescens (shown directly above in the guide) has black markings. Sweat bees are also essential pollinators of native flora, appearing in all seasons in New York on an extensive array of flowering plants found in woodlands and fields. Augochlora  pura have brilliant green heads, thoraxes and abdomens covered with minute whitish hairs. Augochlorella aurata are considered “primitively eusocial” bees. These unusual structures have a hole on the outer side, which provides access to the spongy compartment within. Establishment of the Neotropical orchid bee. Males tend to fly more slowly and rest longer on flowers, looking for mates. PHOTO CREDITS:  All photos and text © Copyright 2014-2016 Paula Sharp and Ross Eatman, unless otherwise noted. The males die and the inseminated females overwinter. (2011) found the orchid bees in Florida to be Euglossa dilemma, a newly described cryptic sibling species of Euglossa viridissima. 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