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bicolored striped sweat bee
bicolored striped sweat bee (Agapostemon virescens) [female]
Illinois Status: common, native
Photo © Chris Helzer
bicolored striped sweat bee (Agapostemon virescens) [male]
Illinois Status: common, native
Photo © Chris Helzer
Features and Behaviors
FEATURES
Like most bees in this family, bicolored striped sweat bees have a shiny, metallic-green appearance on their head and thorax. Females of this species have a lighter white-and-black striping while the males have a more yellow-and black-striping. These bees are about one-half of an inch in length. Their tongue is short, so they visit mainly flowers that are open and flat, as opposed to tube-shaped. Like all bees, they have a thick body with the division between the thorax and abdomen easily seen, four wings, hairs, stocky legs, long antennae and eyes on the side of the head.
BEHAVIORS
Bicolored striped sweat bees feed on the nectar of flowers. They are important pollinators in Illinois and across the United States. These bees are solitary and don't often nest in large aggregations. This can make their nests hard to find. This species is active from March to November.
Illinois Range
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Halictidae
Habitats
Aquatic
bottomland forests; marshes; peatlands; swamps; wet prairies and fens
Woodland
bottomland forests; southern Illinois lowlands; upland deciduous forests
Prairie and Edge
black soil prairie; dolomite prairie; edge; gravel prairie; hill prairie; sand prairie; shrub prairie
