Friday, August 1, 2008

Halictids

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These are two halictid bees from Oak Park, IL, taken by my former field assistant, Marcus Thomasson. The one on the top is Laisoglossum sp., a halictid bee which builds nests in underground tunnels, dug in sand. Most species are social, though some are solitary. Females work together to build a nest in spring, and one of them bullies the other into submission. Their offspring are born, destined to be workers, of sorts. Twenty or thirty bees is large for a Laisoglossum colony. The one on the bottom is Sphecodes sp. It is a parasite, laying its eggs in Laisoglossum cells (I do not know how host specific they are, presumably, Evylaeus, Halictus confusus, or anything similar will do). The females emerge in the spring, with the would-be queens of Laisoglossum, and seek unwary hosts.

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