This trait is visible to the naked eye and useful in the field. (1) Upper legs: The upper legs of Augochloropis are bright iridescent green. Useful tips for distinguishing among green sweat bees genera include the following. Augochloropsis in the Valley also tend to be consistently green or blue-green, while Augochlora and Augochlorella appear in a myriad of colors, including various shades of green, coppery, or even a bright copper- pink. Augochlorella tend to be smaller - but some species are as large as typical Augochlora. ![]() Augochloropsis of the Valley tend to run larger than bees of the other two genera. At the National Butterfly Center and in the Lower Rio Grande Valley generally, Augochlora, Augochloropsis and Augochlorella sweat bees visit the flowers of a varied range of plant families.ĭistinguishing among green sweat bee generaĪugochlora, Augochloropsis and Augochlorella sweat bees sometimes can be difficult to distinguish from one another without the aid of magnification. Members of the tribe Augochlorini tend to be pollinator generalists. They emerge in spring to complete the colony’s life cycle. The males die, and the inseminated females dig downward into the earth in the lower areas of their nests to overwinter. When this second brood hatches in late summer, the males and females mate. When the young emerge, the males leave the nest, while the females remain in the nest, provisioning it for a second brood. In the first spring “foundress phase,” the bees construct an underground nest and provision it for offspring. They have a yearly life cycle split into spring and summer phases. Some Augochlorella and Augochlora are considered to be “primitively eusocial”. ![]() ![]() Some Augochlorini are capable of shifting between solitary and cooperative behavior, depending on environmental conditions. Some form large aggregations in the ground, constructing nests in clumps linked together by earthen connections.Īugochlorini sometimes act cooperatively, constructing nests that share a common entrance protected by a guard bee. Augochlorella and Augochlora sweat bees may be copper-colored or even metallic-pink as well.Īugochlorini tend to build nests in soil or, less commonly, in rotted wood. Bees in this tribe are brilliantly colored - they usually range from golden-green to an intense pure green to a dazzling blue-green. Augochlora, Augochloropsis and Augochlorella sweat bees belong to the tribe Augochlorini.
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