Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small to midsize bees which are usually dark-colored and often metallic. Several species are all or partly green and a few are red; a number of them have yellow markings, especially the males, which commonly possess yellow faces, a pattern widespread among the various families of bees. They are commonly referred to as sweat bees (especially the smaller species), as they are often attracted to perspiration; when pinched, females can give a minor sting.

Most halictids nest in the ground, though a few nest in wood, and they mass-provision (a mass of pollen and nectar is formed inside a waterproof cell, an egg laid upon it, and the cell is sealed off, so the larva is given all of its food at one time, as opposed to "progressive provisioning", which is where a larva is fed repeatedly as it grows, as in honeybees). All species are pollen feeders and may be important pollinators.

Many species in the subfamily Halictinae are eusocial at least in part, with fairly well-defined queen and worker castes (though not the same as the caste system in honeybees), and certain manifestations of their social behavior appear to be facultative in various lineages.

Species in the genus Sphecodes are somewhat wasp-like in appearance and live as cleptoparasites of other bees, including other halictids; the female Sphecodes enters the cell with the provision mass, eats the host egg, and lays an egg of her own in its place. Only a few other genera and species of halictids are parasitic.

List of North American genera

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Rophitinae:

• Conanthalictus
• Dufourea
• Micralictoides
• Protodufourea
• Sphecodosoma
• Xeralictus

Nomiinae:

• Dieunomia
• Nomia

Halictinae:

• Agapostemon
• Augochlora
• Augochlorella
• Augochloropsis
• Dialictus
• Evylaeus
• Halictus
• Lasioglossum
• Mexalictus
• Sphecodes
• Temnosoma

External links

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• Everything About the Sweat Bee - Description and photo of the sweat bee.

Wasps | Pollinators