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@xris@ecoevo.socialThere are sooo many *Augochlora pura*, Pure Green Sweat Bees, in my garden this Spring.
Nearly every log in my garden has them visiting. The size of my pinky nail, ~1cm, they nest in rotting wood.
They are my favoritest bee.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/270908721
@xris A favorite bee indeed. #pollinators.
@xris That is one handsome bee!
@iBlame
The Bestest Bee.
@xris I've read that you can attract pure green sweat bees with salt-soaked pieces of paper or cloth. Always been on my list of things to try because normally they are hard to photograph.
@colinpurrington
Hard to photograph, they are!
I had a couple checking me out yesterday, but none landed. Many of my shots show them on a log, like the one above.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/flatbushgardener/v96C3R2910
#Bees #NaturePhotography #Flickr
@xris Wow, that's a big collection of pics! Please let us know if you do the salt-lick thing.
@xris And if you ever stumble across an active nest, get out a magnifying lens and look for the nematodes that eat the pollen stores. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN1225#:~:text=Aduncospiculum%20halicti
@colinpurrington
I have active nesting sites all over my garden. Some of my logs are now 20 years old.
I got a new microscope with camera I've yet to set up. Nest contents would make a good subject. (I've got some emergence trap subjects first on my list.)
@xris Well, if you have some nests open please also look for larvae and pupae that don't look quite right. Per several pages I've read there are no known parasites of Augochlora pura. Likely I've just consulted the wrong sources.
@xris My favorite Augochlora pura pic is this one slicing into a corn anther. https://colinpurrington.smugmug.com/Nature/Insects/Hymenoptera/i-zSkHxBR