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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees » Sweat, Furrow, Nomiine, and Short-faced Bees (Halictidae) » Sweat and Furrow Bees (Halictinae) » Halictini » Lasioglossum » Subgenus Lasioglossum (Lasioglossum Subgenus Lasioglossum)
Photo#606057
Gold and Black Phacelia Bee - Lasioglossum
Copyright © 2012 Aaron Schusteff

Gold and Black Phacelia Bee - Lasioglossum
Between Escondido Campground and Hanging Valley, Los Padres National Forest, Monterey County, California, USA
June 15, 2011
Nibbling on pollen?

This bee appears to have fairly lethal-looking, in-pointing, tibial spurs. I was speculating it might be a female nest parasite, who uses those spurs to battle other bees in attempts to usurp their nest. But maybe it's just a typical male bee that uses those tibial spurs to "hang on" while pursuing the 2nd highest goal of his brief adult existence...after the highest goal of savoring fresh Phacelia pollen, or maybe just experiencing the visceral joy of flying through the air from flower to flower.

(Do you suppose bees fix on us with their bee curiosity...and mellito-morphize all sorts of strange explanations for our incomprehensible behavior? :-)

Images of this individual: tag all
Gold and Black Phacelia Bee - Lasioglossum Gold and Black Phacelia Bee - Lasioglossum
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Contributed by Aaron Schusteff on 7 January, 2012 - 9:02pm
Last updated 21 March, 2012 - 9:33am

Moved
Moved from Lasioglossum.
… John S. Ascher, 21 March, 2012 - 9:33am login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Anthophila (Apoidea) - Bees.
… John S. Ascher, 9 January, 2012 - 2:31pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks, John
Always grateful for your help.

(BTW, do those scary-looking tibial spurs actually indicate this is a cleptoparasitic female...or it that off-the-mark speculation?)
… Aaron Schusteff, 9 January, 2012 - 9:48pm login or register to post comments

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