CLOSED: A little metallic green bee, I think

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DrDoolotz Oxford, NS(Zone 5b) Aug 04, 2008

I saw this "bee" on my Monarda. I think it is a bee because it was collecting pollen, and its back legs had yellow "saddlebags" of pollen on them, just like a regular bumblebee. But this bee was very tiny, and as you can see from the photo, it is metallic green in color. I have never seen a bee like this before. Maybe it is not a bee and just another bug that carries pollen on its back legs. Sorry for the photo being so out of focus - I had to take it in a hurry. It was a busy bee/bug.

Oh, I live in Iowa, zone 5a. Therefore it must be an insect we normally have around here, I would think.

Thanks for any ID!
Claire

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Aug 04, 2008

The photo is fuzzy, but it could be a bee in the family Halictidae. Many of these are quite small and some show metallic green coloration - see http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/sweat_bees_halictidae for some examples. Often called 'sweat bees,' they have a sting all out of proportion to their size!

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LEO88 Big Rapids, MI(Zone 4b) Aug 04, 2008

could also bee a Cuckoo Wasp - Chrysididae... notorious for their bright metallic-green...common
http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/cuckoo_wasps_chrysididae

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DrDoolotz Oxford, NS(Zone 5b) Aug 04, 2008

These are both possibilities. I don't know if the wasp would collect pollen and have those yellow pollen "saddlebags" on its back legs?

The sweat bees look somewhat similar, but are more yellowish-green, whereas the wasps look to be the right color (more blue green), but not sure about the pollen part. Hmmm....

There was no stripey back half to this one, like some of the sweat bee pictures. It was all the blue green color.

Post #5366325
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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Aug 04, 2008

There are some halictids that are entirely green and superficially resemble cuckoo wasps - see http://www.cedarcreek.umn.edu/insects/newslides/025066011001apo.jpg for an example in the genus Augochlorella.

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