Halictus ligatus
| Halictus ligatus | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Euarthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Halictidae |
| Genus: | Halictus |
| Species: | H. ligatus |
| Binomial name | |
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Halictus ligatus unknown |
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Halictus ligatus is a species of sweat bee from the family Halictidae, characterized by those bees that mine or burrow into the ground to create their nests. Moreover, As a member of the Halictidae, H. ligatus is commonly categorized a sweat bee due to its attraction to the salts of human perspiration. H. ligatus, like Lasioglossum zephyrum, is a primitively eusocial bee species, for which aggression is one of the most influential behavioral attitudes for establishing hierarchy within the colony. Furthermore, as a eusocial bee, H. ligatus participates in both reproductive division of labor as well as overlapping generations in order to ensure that offspring may assist parents in brood care . In addition, most individuals are small to medium in size, ranging from three to ten millimetres in length These bees may be metallic or non-metallic in appearance and are one of the most abundant species other than the Apis or honeybee.
Halictus ligatus, commonly known as a sweat bee, was originally described by Say in 1837. The genus name Halictus refers to a group of sweat bees of the family Halictidae and order Hymenoptera known for their eusocial behavior and unique underground burrowed nesting. This family includes the Halictinae, Nomiinae, Nomioidinae, and Rophitinae subfamilies. Within Halictidae, the subfamily Halictinae is unique for the substantial diversity in social behavior exhibited among species or within species, such as in H. rubicundus. For instance, species of this subfamily may exhibit either solitary nesting, communal nesting, cleptoparasitism, social parasitism, or primitive eusociality similar to H. ligatus.
The appearance of H. ligatus individuals closely resembles other members of the genus Halictus. These individuals are easily differentiated from those of the closely related Lasioglossum by the presence of their pale fasciae hair bands on the posterior margins of the metasomal terga. In addition, the species is predominantly black or brown-black and lacks the faint metallic tints found in bees of the Seladonia subgenus. Moreover, species of Halictus are generally longer than species of Seladonia which average to be shorter than around 7 mm.
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