Ligated Furrow Bee

Appearance

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 larger than species of "Seladonia" which are typically under 7 mm long.

"H. ligatus" females are easily distinguished from other females by a postero-ventral genal tooth. In addition, the males are easily distinguished from other males by the presence of long suberect hairs on the second and third metasomal sterna.

Distribution

"Halictus ligatus" is one of the most abundant and readily identifiable bees in North America, encompassing a wide range of aridities and altitudes. The species can be found in North American for about 50 degrees north latitude, south to the West Indies and Colombia. "H. ligatus" is also located in temperate areas of the Atlantic to the Pacific, including the southern Gulf of Mexico and southern Canada This vast range of distribution contributes to local distinctions in behavior, colony cycle, and colony demographic as a result of variation in environmental pressures.

Reproduction

Female sweat bees of "H. ligatus" exhibit a wide range of reproductive roles, ranging from typically foundress to typically worker-like. Nests founded in the spring are mostly haplometrotic or founded by a single queen. A few others, around 12%, are pleometrotic or founded by anywhere from 2 to 6 queens. In these pleiometric associations, dominant foundresses behave in a manner similar to haplometrotic queens while subordinates behave like mid-summer workers.

The choice of reproductive role available to a particular female is generally dictated by several important factors at the time of emergence including social milieu of the nest, body size and fat stores at eclosion, and time of year. For instance, females that emerge in mid-summer that are small, have few or no fat stores, and whose nesting includes a larger queen tend to develop as workers who assist their mothers to raise the second, reproductive brood. On the contrary, females that emerge in late summer that are large and have large fat stores are destined to mate and become queens of their own nests in the following spring.

Food

Although pollen protein content is commonly considered the most important factor for bees, different pollens are known to vary widely by many nutritional factors. For "H. ligatus", a polylectic, social halictine, offspring mass increases with increasing protein content in a linear manner. This suggests that smaller amounts of high protein pollen are needed to produce an offspring of a given size relative to the required amount of pollen of lower pollen content. However, size of provision masses does not vary with pollen type, indicating that foragers are not able to recognize protein content differences.

Defense

In the rare occurrence of nests which contain more than one foundress, one individual will become the "guard". These guards are reproductively dominant individuals, while other individuals assume foraging duties. Single foundress nests, however, are left unguarded during foraging trips.

As a result, these nests may be prone to experience conflict over nest ownership due to the occurrence of usurpation attempts. These conflicts range from brief feuds of 5 seconds or less to prolonged fights lasting anywhere from 10 to 26 minutes. During these encounters, the guard blocks the nest entrance with its abdomen and engages in thrusts to eject the intruder. In fact, this may even involve mandibular aggression, which often leads to the loss of legs and other vital body parts.