13 Striped Sweat Bee

Agapostemon virescens

Characteristics

Length: 0.39–0.43 in (10–11 mm).

Flight season: April–October.

Nectar sources: Very varied.

Habitat: Meadows, parks, gardens.

Striped sweat bees (also known as bicoloured agapostemons) live in many parts of the United States and southern Canada. They drink nectar at many flowers, including those of Joe Pye weeds, coneflowers, goldenrods, sunflowers, and peas. The bee has a shining, metallic green head and thorax—similar to a gold-green sweat bee—but its abdomen is striped black and yellow (male) or black and white (female). The male has bright-yellow legs. This species is an important pollinator, visiting a wide range of flowers. It builds its nest burrows in the ground, often on a south-facing slope.

This sweat bee is described as a communal bee, neither eusocial nor solitary. That is because one entrance tunnel leads into a network of underground side passages, each dug by one female and each with its own egg cells. One egg is laid in each cell, which has a supply of pollen and nectar for the grub when it hatches. The advantage of this breeding strategy is that, since there may be a number of adult females inside the nest complex at any one time, there is less chance of a kleptoparasitic cuckoo bee gaining entry.