''Augochlorella aurata'' is a species of sweat bee (bees attracted by the salt in human sweat) in the family Halictidae. It is found in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

east of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. The body is a brilliant green metallic color, diffused to varying extents with a copper, red, or yellow color. Its length is 5 to 7 mm. A common name is golden green sweat bee.

Description and identification

Members of ''Augochlorella aurata'' are usually a golden green color but can range from a metallic blue to a coppery pink. Both males and females of ''Augochlorella aurata'' are around 5-7mm, females usually being slightly larger than males. Like many bees, the females have 11 antennal segments and the males have 10. The propodeum is relatively uniform, with no ridge, separating it from bees in a closely related genus, ''Agapostemon''. The hind tibial spur is simple or slightly serrated, distinguishing it from the genus ''Augochloropsis''. Like many members of Halictidae, the tip of the mandible of these bees is shaped like a glove, distinguishing them from a species that closely resembles them, ''

Augochlora pura ''Augochlora pura'' is a solitary sweat bee found primarily in the Eastern United States. It is known for its bright green color and its tendency to forage on a variety of plants. Inhabiting rotting logs, this bee can produce up to three generat ...

.'' The marginal cell of the forewing is pointed and not squared off, which is another easy way to tell ''A. aurata'' from ''Augochlora pura''.

Life cycle

''Augochlorella aurata'' is a generally primitively social ground nesting bee. Their usual active season begins with a foundress phase in which all of the overwintered bees will start a first brood of both males and females. After this first brood emerges in early summer, the females become workers and the foundresses become queens, starting the worker phase. The next phase is the reproductive phase, in which workers assist the queen in raising a second brood towards the end of summer. This second brood will then mate in early fall, the inseminated females overwintering and going on to start the cycle anew as foundresses the next season. Although most ''A. aurata'' will at least roughly stick to this cycle, there have been studies that prove that they will not always follow it exactly, going through the worker phase more than once or becoming completely solitary.

Distribution and habitat

''Augochlorella aurata'' is found throughout the United states, clustering mostly around the east coast and spreading westward. There have been sparse occurrences of ''A. aurata'' as west as California and as south as South America. ''A. aurata'' inhabits the range furthest north in the

Augochlorini Augochlorini is a tribe of sweat bees in the subfamily Halictinae. They are found in the Nearctic and Neotropic realms. They typically display metallic coloration, with many species that are red, gold, green, blue, or purple. Genera * '' An ...

tribe.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

''Augochlorella aurata'' is a bee within the family Halictidae, in which 4 subfamilies, 81 genera, and over 4,000 species are currently described. It is within the tribe

References

External links