''Halictus scabiosae'', the great banded furrow-bee, is a species of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

in the family

Halictidae Halictidae is the second-largest family of bees (clade Anthophila) with nearly 4,500 species. Halictid species are an extremely diverse group that can vary greatly in appearance. These bees occur all over the world and are found on every contine ...

, the sweat bees.

Distribution

This species is present in most of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

and in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

.Fauna Europaea
/ref>

Description

The abdomen is long, with yellowish stripes and a double band on tergites two and three. The legs are yellow and antennae are entirely black and curved at the apex. Males are very elongated and have a whitish posterior band on segments two-six of the abdomen, while the females show basal hair yellowish-beige bands on tergites two-four. This species looks very similar to a closely related species, ''

Halictus sexcinctus ''Halictus sexcinctus'', commonly referred to as the six-banded furrow bee, is a species of sweat bee found throughout Europe and as far east as Asian Turkey and Iraq.The ''H. sexcinctus'' can be easily confused with the closely related species, ...

'', and thus the two can be easily confused. These two species can be distinguished from one another in that males of ''H. sexcinctus'' have longer, reddish antennae, and females lack said basal hair bands.Falk, Steven
"Halictus Scabiosae (Great Banded Furrow-bee)."
/ref>BWARS - Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society
/ref>

Biology

These mining bees nest on the ground in hardened paths. Normally they dig vertical tunnels in the ground, with a circular entrance surrounded by a cone of earth.Aramel
/ref> In most cases a single female of ''Halictus scabiosae'' use a single nest, but sometimes they have a primitive social organization, with multiple females reproducing in a common nest. This primitive species can also be eusocial, with smaller females acting as workers.
/ref> They are used to nest at a particular site in many colonies. This species may have several generations per year. Females usually can be found in April after hibernation, while males and new females appear in July. These bees feed on nectar and pollen of various flowers, especially on

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...

species.

Gallery

File:Gelbbindige Furchenbiene Halictus scabiosae 1640.jpg, Male File:Bee May 2008-5.jpg, Female Halictidae - Halictus scabiosae-1.JPG, Female that enters the nest File:Halictidae - Halictus scabiosae.JPG, Female guarding the entrance of the nest

References

External links