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Sweat Bee
Sweat Bee, common name for any of a large family of bees, many of which are attracted to the salts in human perspiration. Most sweat bees are small to medium-sized, 3 to 10 mm (0.12 to 0.40 in) long. They are generally black or metallic colored, and some are brilliant green or brassy yellow. Sweat bees are among the most common bees wherever bees are found.
Sweat bees are particularly numerous in North America. Although their small size makes them relatively inconspicuous, hundreds may swarm over flowers in gardens or meadows. The different species are often difficult to distinguish. Most sweat bees visit a variety of flowers. They sting only if handled.
The alkali bee is a somewhat unusual ground-nesting sweat bee native to arid regions of the western United States. It is black with pearly bands on the abdomen. This solitary, gregarious bee nests in alkali soils where water leaches from below to the surface, leaving a salty crust. The bee forages on a wide variety of flowers but is particularly attracted to alfalfa and pollinates it very efficiently. Commercial alfalfa seed growers use the alkali bee for pollination in parts of the West. They maintain or construct special alkali bee beds to cultivate thousands of bees.
In some parasitic species of sweat bees, females invade the nests of other bees and lay their eggs in the food stored by the host bee. The sweat bee larva kills the host larva and consumes the food. Hosts are usually other species of sweat.
Sweat bees are particularly numerous in North America. Although their small size makes them relatively inconspicuous, hundreds may swarm over flowers in gardens or meadows. The different species are often difficult to distinguish. Most sweat bees visit a variety of flowers. They sting only if handled.
The alkali bee is a somewhat unusual ground-nesting sweat bee native to arid regions of the western United States. It is black with pearly bands on the abdomen. This solitary, gregarious bee nests in alkali soils where water leaches from below to the surface, leaving a salty crust. The bee forages on a wide variety of flowers but is particularly attracted to alfalfa and pollinates it very efficiently. Commercial alfalfa seed growers use the alkali bee for pollination in parts of the West. They maintain or construct special alkali bee beds to cultivate thousands of bees.
In some parasitic species of sweat bees, females invade the nests of other bees and lay their eggs in the food stored by the host bee. The sweat bee larva kills the host larva and consumes the food. Hosts are usually other species of sweat.