tags: hymenoptera, bees, Augochlora species, Metallic Green Native Bee, Image of the Day
Metallic Green Native Bee, Augochlora species.
This tiny and very fast-moving, alert bee is hard to photograph. I found it nectaring on Eupatorium serotinum, a/k/a late-flowering boneset, in the West 11th Street Park in the Heights section of Houston, Texas, on September 23, 2007.
Image: Biosparite [larger view].
The Green Metallic Bee in the genus Augochlora, in the Halictid Family. According to the Audubon Guide: the "Female digs nest of many branching burrows in dead wood or uses pre-existing borrows of other insects. Female supplies each cell with pollen ball and nectar, and lays an egg on each ball. Larvae or pupae overwinter. Adults emerge in spring."
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yes, they are pretty fast, i still havent take a pic of one of these swift bees....
This posting was very helpful. I saw one of these ladies out digging in some garden mulch and did a quick search of "Texas Native Hymenoptera" and it was the first picture that came up. Thanks!
I just got stung by one of these bees twice, by sitting on it in my car, (I left the windows down), and was surprised by its neon green color. I had never seen a bee like this before, and have lived in Texas for thirty years. We put it in a jar, and the bee in this picture looks exactly like the culprit that got me. I was wearing a very thin sundress, and I now have two welts the size of quarters right on my bum! Thanks for the visual in helping determine the species. You learn something new everyday!
An effective sting remedy for immediate reduction of pain is toothpaste. Apparently, the application of a base to the skin on and around the sting neutralizes the acid of the venom. I found that using baking soda mixed with water as a moist poultice applied to and left on and around the sting until it dries does the job of killing pain in minutes and completely stopping the usual nine days of itching, swelling and redness I get from untreated Apis mellifera stings. It has worked on a Vespid sting, too.