Subgenus Dialictus, Metallic-Sweat Bees

Classification · Numbers · Identification · Range · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited

Bee With Alien Mouthparts? - Lasioglossum - male

Very small bee - Lasioglossum tarponense - female

Sweat Bees Lasioglossum tegulare species group - Lasioglossum

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)

No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)

No Taxon (Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees)

Family Halictidae (Sweat, Furrow, Nomiine, and Short-faced Bees)

Subfamily Halictinae (Sweat and Furrow Bees)

Tribe Halictini

Genus Lasioglossum

No Taxon Subgenus Dialictus, Metallic-Sweat Bees

Numbers

~200 spp. in our area, ~600 spp. worldwide(1)

Identification

A key to the eastern species of subgenus dialictus can be found in Gibbs(2011) Full Text Here

Range

mostly holarctic and neotropical (a few spp. in SE Asia); in our area, all but 4 spp. in the US, 91 spp. in Canada(1)

Remarks

Extremely difficult to ID to species, even under the microscope. They are so morphologically monotonous that breaking them into species groups is only an option for some. Many species can only be IDed by the relative density of punctures on the surface of the bee.

However: "The limiting factor is resolution of the images. If we could clearly see antennal proportions and scutal sculpturing many species identifications would become possible." (Comment by John Ascher).

Male and female

Print References

Gibbs, J. 2010. Revision of the metallic species of Lasioglossum (Dialictus)in Canada (Hymenoptera, Halictidae, Halictini). Zootaxa; 2591, 175-178.(2)

Gibbs, J. 2011. Revision of the metallic Lasioglossum (Dialictus) of eastern North America (Hymenoptera: Halictidae: Halictini.) Zootaxa.(3)

Gardner, J., & Gibbs, J. (2020). The ‘red-tailed’ Lasioglossum (Dialictus) (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) of the western Nearctic. European Journal of Taxonomy, 725(1), 1-242. (Full Text Here)

Works Cited

1.	Ascher J.S., Pickering J. (2017) Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila)

2.	Revision of the metallic species of Lasioglossum (Dialictus) in Canada.

3.	Revision of the metallic Lasioglossum (Dialictus) of eastern North America

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