Posts Tagged: green sweat bee
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling...There Must Be a Green Insect Nearby
When Irish eyes are smiling, it could be... St. Patrick's Day is approaching or A green insect is nearby If you've ever seen the female metallic green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, or the sand wasp, Bembix americana, you can't help but think about the "Wearing of the Green." They're...
The female metallic green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, nectaring on a purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The male metallic green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, is partly green; its head and thorax are green, but not its abdomen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A sand wasp, Bembix americana, foraging on a seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus) at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wearing o' the Green
On St. Patrick's Day, we see green. We crave green. We wear green. And the penalty for not wearing green? You get pinched. Not so with green sweat bees. As their common name implies, they're green. A metallic green. But no pinching allowed! The green sweat bee, Agapostemon spp., is an...
A close-up of a male green sweet bee, Agapostemon texanus, nectaring on a coneflower, Rudbeckia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
How Green Is Your Cosmos?
The vibrant colors of Cosmos, an annual flower with the same common name as its genus, are spectacular. But we especially like the showstopping pink Cosmos with its bright yellow center. Well, sometimes, they have a green center--that's when an ultra green sweat bee is foraging. The female...
Long-distance view of a pink Cosmos with a "green" center. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up view of a female ultra green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, on Cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The female ultra green sweat bee continues to forage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Bee That's a Delight to See
What's that on the Coreopsis? Could it be--a bee? Yes, that's the metallic green sweat bee, also called an ultra green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus. This one (below) is a female. Males and females are easily distinguishable. The female is all green, from head to thorax to...
Female metallic green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, on coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Female metallic green sweat bee peers at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Color It Metallic Green
The green metallic sweat bee looks as if someone splashed green fluorescent paint on it.This uniquely colored bee is just one of some 1600 native bee species in California. It's about one-fourth the size of a honey bee and it's difficult to photograph because (1) it's tiny and (2) it moves...
Green Metallic Sweat Bee
In Flight