top of page

Bees of Zihuatanejo

EPIFAMILY ANTHOPHILA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies (Order Hymenoptera)

-Narrow-waisted Wasps, Ants, and Bees (Suborder Apocrita)

-Ants, Bees, and Stinging Wasps (Infraorder Aculeata)

-Bees and Apoid Wasps (Superfamily Apoidea)

-Bees (Epifamily Anthophila)

-Sweat Bees (Family Halictidae)

-Sweat and Furrow Bees (Subfamily Halictinae)

-Tribe Halictini​

-Genus Lasioglossum


Lasioglossum bees are generally small. These bees have slender, slightly hairy bodies with short antennae and large compound eyes. Lasioglossum bees are generalist pollinators, foraging from a wide variety of flowers. Most species in this genus are ground-nesters, digging small burrows in sandy or loose soil. These burrows lead to a network of tunnels and brood chambers, where females provision each cell with a mixture of pollen and nectar before laying an egg.



Metallic Sweat Bees

Complex Lasioglossum gemmatum

Range

  • Members of the Lasioglossum gemmatum complex are distributed from the southern United States through Mexico and into Central America.

  • In Mexico, they occur in a variety of habitats, including the Pacific coast of Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

  • The exact distribution of individual species within the complex is still being refined through ongoing taxonomic research.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, woodland edges, grasslands, secondary forests, gardens, orchards, and agricultural areas.

  • Most species nest in well-drained soil, often in sunny, sparsely vegetated locations.

  • Adults are commonly encountered visiting a wide variety of flowering plants.

Behaviour

  • Most members of the complex are solitary or primitively social, depending on the species and local environmental conditions.

  • Females excavate underground nests and provision brood cells with pollen and nectar before laying a single egg.

  • Active during the day, they are important pollinators of both native wildflowers and cultivated plants.

  • Generally docile and unlikely to sting unless directly handled.

Size

  • Body length: 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in)

  • Females are typically slightly larger and more robust than males.

bottom of page