Pollinator Post 6/9/24 (1)
Entering Skyline Gardens through the Steam Train entrance a little before 10 am, I am delighted to find the blooming California Phacelia, Phacelia californica abuzz with Yellow-faced Bumble Bees, Bombus vosnesenskii (family Apidae).
A tiny bug is making its way through the inflorescence of California Phacelia. I have seen this bug before, also on phacelia. The presence of conspicuous cuneus on its wings identifies it as a Plant Bug (family Miridae).
Mirid bugs are also referred to as plant bugs or leaf bugs. Miridae is one of the largest family of true bugs in the order Hemiptera. Like other Hemipterans, Mirids have piercing, sucking mouthparts to extract plant sap. Some species are predatory. One useful feature in identifying members of the family is the presence of a cuneus; it is the triangular tip of the corium, the firm, horny part of the forewing, the hemielytron. The cuneus is visible in nearly all Miridae.
A glint of insect wings alerts me to the presence of a tiny wasp, barely 2 mm long, moving among the phacelia flowers.
It appears to be a Chalcid Wasp in the superfamily Chalcidoidea.
Most Chalcid species are parasitoids of other insects, attacking the eggs or larval stage of their host, though many other life cycles are known. These hosts are to be found in at least 12 different insect orders including Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Diptera (true flies), Coleoptera (beetles), Hemiptera (true bugs), and other Hymenoptera, as well as two orders of Arachnida. When the host is itself a parasitoid, the wasps are referred to as hyperparasitoids. Generally beneficial to humans as a group, chalcidoids help keep various crop pests under control, and many species have been used as biocontrol agents.
It appears to be a Chalcid Wasp in the superfamily Chalcidoidea.
Most Chalcid species are parasitoids of other insects, attacking the eggs or larval stage of their host, though many other life cycles are known. These hosts are to be found in at least 12 different insect orders including Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Diptera (true flies), Coleoptera (beetles), Hemiptera (true bugs), and other Hymenoptera, as well as two orders of Arachnida. When the host is itself a parasitoid, the wasps are referred to as hyperparasitoids. Generally beneficial to humans as a group, chalcidoids help keep various crop pests under control, and many species have been used as biocontrol agents.
A small bee with a metallic sheen is foraging on an inflorescence of California Phacelia, Phacelia californica.
The bee appears to be a Metallic Sweat Bee, Lasioglossum (Dialictus) sp. in the family Halictidae.
Lasioglossum species are found worldwide, and they constitute the largest bee genus. The subgenus Dialictus are the most likely to be seen in the U.S., with over 300 species of these tiny metallic bees. The majority of Lasioglossum are generalists. Because they are so abundant throughout the flowering season, the bees are often important pollinators. Their sheer numbers are enough to achieve excellent pollination of many wild flowers, especially of plants in the Asteraceae, which have shallow floral tubes that are easily accessed by these minute bees.
Lasioglossum are closely related to the genera Halictus and Agapostemon. These genera are commonly called “sweat bees” because of their attraction to human sweat, which they drink for its salt content. Lasioglossum are dusky black to brown slender bees with bands of hair on their abdomen. Female Sweat Bees (family Halictidae) carry pollen in the scopae on their entire hind legs and underside of their abdomen.
Lasioglossum exhibit a range of social behaviors; the genus includes solitary, communal, semi social, primitively eusocial, and even parasitic species. Almost all Lasioglossum in the U.S. nest in the ground. Generally these nests are built in the spring by fertilized females (called foundresses) that spent the winter in hibernation. In social species, the foundresses behave much like the queen Bumble Bees – they lay the first batch of eggs that develop into the first generation of female workers. The nest grows with each additional generation of bees. Later broods may consist of both males and females. They mate, and at the end of the season the fertilized females hibernate til the following spring, repeating the life cycle of the colony.
The bee walks through a field of flowers with spent stamens.
Dialictus is a subgenus of Sweat Bees belonging to the genus Lasioglossum. Most of the members of this subgenus have a subtly metallic appearance, and are small, about 3.4-8.1 mm in size. They are commonly found in Northern Hemisphere and are found in abundance in North America. As in the other members of the family Halictidae, the bees have very diverse forms of social structure, making them model organisms for studying the social behavior of bees.
She finally finds some fresh flowers. The bee climbs the stamen of a flower with unopened anther.
The agile bee gets a better angle on the anther.
She continues to extract pollen from other fresh anthers in the vicinity.
She uses her mandibles and front legs to extract the pollen, which is then swiftly transferred to the scopae on her hind legs. This seems to be the modus operandi of small female bees gathering pollen.