How to live with sweat bees as they pollinate. Why get rid of sweat bees? Information on how to live with them and the sweat bees.
Halictidae. The sweat bee
Sweat bees (Halictidae ) do not produce honey, but do an important job for human kind by pollinating all fruit vegetables and flowers. So do any other species of bees including some insects. They are also the second larges of Anthophila Bees. Are found all over the world. The tiny bees are about 7 – 13 mm in length.
Why they call them sweat bees
Sweat bees are attracted to human sweat (perspiration), but they do not sting you. Only if disturbed or swatted away, as do all bees. Then the sting will minor.
Sweat Bees are not Bad
The bees obtain salt and minerals from the sweat. They are so tiny and often get mistaken for other insects.
For me they are only picked up once a photograph is taken. Since then I have learnt to recognize them. They collect pollen on the tiny hind legs to take to their nests to provide for food for their young. Pollen provides all the nutrients and vitamins needed once the egg hatches and a young bee grows up.
This goes for all bee species. Pollen in the source of food for the young.
The sweat bee is usually dark in color or a metallic color. Several species are partly green and some are red in color. The males have yellow markings on the head and commonly have yellow heads.
A metallic green sweat bee on some cosmos flowers.
Nesting
Most of the species nest in the dry ground and some in wood. They place an egg in a waterproof cell and provide the pollen mixed with nectar for the young and then seal off the sell. (provide plenty of food for the young to survive and grow)
How to keep sweat bees away
Use some essential oils with mint and other repellents, on your skin to prevent them landing on your skin. This will also deter other biting bugs. The sweat bee will only lick the salts from your sweaty skin. They will not sting you. Please save the bees.
Found this out myself, as this mixture was applied to repel biting or stinging bugs from me while photographing. Not realizing that I was close to the flowers and plenty of sweat bees then they flew away.
Below a green sweat bee pollinating flowers full of pollen. Essential for feed for the young.
Sweat bees and other species pollinate wild flowers. The photo below is a black jack flower that is tiny as well. Found this green sweat bee foraging.
Therefore this post is in response to all the posts on how to kill or get rid of sweat bees.
One day when there is no more pollinators because humans must kill everything then there will not be any food.
If Bees die then we will die to.
Keep them from you by using a mint oil or citronella oils or any other repellent on your skin. Its simple. Prevention.
Please just save the bees.
Other information on sweat bees.
- The Honey bee and sweat bee on flowers (to see the size of the different bees)
- The green sweat bee pollinating flowers
- Green sweat bee on sunflowers
- Dark sweat Bee
- Tiny dark sweat bee
- Bees foraging on wild flowers (a green sweat bee)
- Sweat bees foraging poppy flowers
- Garden poppies and dark sweat bees
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