Filarean Leisure. Lasioglossum sp., Black Sweat Bee, on Redstem Filaree, Erodium circutarium, Our Lawn, Venlo, The Netherlands
The other day I remarked that Blood Bees 'cuckoo' other Bees' nests and thus don't themselves use pollen. One of the Bees used to their advantage is this Lasioglossum sp., a tiny black Sweat Bee. They're quite small - as you can see comparing this one to the little Filaree flower. I watched for awhile and then rather suddenly Lasio stopped in its tracks. Heart attack? goodness knows. I waited, then touched and it fell to the ground. Dead. At least, the day had been nicely sunny; and Olymp had already taken a photo.
Beautiful little creature with all those marking hair bands. In 1833, John Curtis (1791-1862) devised the name 'Lasioglossum' (hairy-tongued). In a revision of the name, Ronald J. McGinley in his wonderful work of 1986 writes that 'hairy-tongued' can't be a good description because this Sweat Bee has a tongue not hairier than others. But the name - once given - has held. And there we are. ... with a dead Bee on the ground ready for Ants and other undertakers.
Filarean Leisure. Lasioglossum sp., Black Sweat Bee, on Redstem Filaree, Erodium circutarium, Our Lawn, Venlo, The Netherlands
The other day I remarked that Blood Bees 'cuckoo' other Bees' nests and thus don't themselves use pollen. One of the Bees used to their advantage is this Lasioglossum sp., a tiny black Sweat Bee. They're quite small - as you can see comparing this one to the little Filaree flower. I watched for awhile and then rather suddenly Lasio stopped in its tracks. Heart attack? goodness knows. I waited, then touched and it fell to the ground. Dead. At least, the day had been nicely sunny; and Olymp had already taken a photo.
Beautiful little creature with all those marking hair bands. In 1833, John Curtis (1791-1862) devised the name 'Lasioglossum' (hairy-tongued). In a revision of the name, Ronald J. McGinley in his wonderful work of 1986 writes that 'hairy-tongued' can't be a good description because this Sweat Bee has a tongue not hairier than others. But the name - once given - has held. And there we are. ... with a dead Bee on the ground ready for Ants and other undertakers.