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Photo#235071
Bee - Augochlorella - male

Bee - Augochlorella - Male
Sand Springs, Osage County, Oklahoma, USA
October 19, 2008
Size: 5mm (3/16")

Images of this individual: tag all
Bee - Augochlorella - male Bee - Augochlorella - male

Why is this not an Augochlora or Augochlorella male?
I do not see the modified tegulae of Augochloropsis or rows of vibrissae at the tergal apices or any other diagnostic characters of that genus.

The only Augochloropsis other than A. metallica found in (or possible in) Oklahoma is A. sumptuosa (Smith, 1853), a large, conspicuous species that is never red to my knowledge.

In my experience Augochlora pura is often reddish but OK Augochloropsis species are not.

male Augochloropsis species (sweat bee - Halictidae)
That's a male Augochloropsis - and it's *not* A. metallica, which is the most common species in the genus. Don't know for certain which one it would be with a red tail, in Oklahoma.