Lasioglossum coeruleum (Robertson, 1893)

Halictus coeruleus Robertson, 1893: 146 [♀,♂‚]

     Lectotype ♀ [designated by LaBerge, in Webb 1980: 116]. USA, Illinois, Carlinville, 10 April 1889, by C. Robertson [INHS no. 8806].

Species Notes

The DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN) for this species has not yet been assigned.

Size

♀ body length: 5.25–7.10 mm; head length: 1.58–1.82 mm; head width: 1.70–1.99 mm; forewing length: 4.64–5.00 mm

♂‚ body length: 6.71 mm; head length: 1.76 mm; head width: 1.81 mm; forewing length: 4.94 mm

Biology

Unlike most other nest building Dialictus, this species nests in rotitng wood (Knerer and Atwood 1962; Stockhammer 1967; Michener 1974). However, Barrows (1973) was able to induced soil nesting in this species. This species forms primitively eusocial colonies (Stockhammer 1967).

Extent of Occurrence (EOO) in Canada (http://geocat.kew.org/): 53,979 km2

Index of Area of Occupancy (IAO) in Canada (http://geocat.kew.org/): 144 km2

References

Barrows EM (1973) Soil nesting by wood-inhabiting halictine bees, Augochlora pura and Lasioglossum coeruleum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 46: 496–499.

Knerer G, Atwood CE (1962) An annotated check list of the non-parasitic Halictidae (Hymenoptera) of Ontario. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario 92: 160–176.

Michener CD (1974) The Social Behavior of the Bees. Belknap Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Robertson C (1893) Notes on bees, with descriptions of new species. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 20 (2): 145‑149. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25076604

Stockhammer KA (1967) Some notes on the biology of the blue sweat bee, Lasioglossum coeruleum. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 40: 177–189.