Halictus minutissimus (Kirby)

Weissmann, Julie A., Picanco, Ana, Borges, Paulo A. V. & Schaefer, Hanno, 2017, Bees of the Azores: an annotated checklist (Apidae, Hymenoptera), ZooKeys 642, pp. 63-95 : 77-78

Halictus minutissimus (Kirby)

Halictus minutissimus (Kirby), ( Lasioglossum minutissimum ; Evylaeus minutissimus )

Description.

Tiny blackish bee (total length c. 5 mm in both sexes, wing length 3,5-4 mm in females and 3-3,5 mm in males); males with entirely dark hind legs (Fig. 8 a–b).

Distinguishing features.

Smallest of the Halictus species in the Azores, behaviour more hectic than other bees.

General distribution.

West- and Central Europe.

Distribution in the Azores.

Faial, São Miguel, Terceira.

First record.

1986 (first mentioned by Ebmer 1988).

Nesting.

Ground nests, sometimes in large aggregations.

Social behaviour.

Solitary.

Foraging.

Polylectic, observed on Asteraceae ( Erigeron karvinskianus ).

Phenology.

July.

Material.

Faial (Horta), July 1986, 1 female, leg. Aptroot, det. Ebmer, coll. Mus. Leiden ( Ebmer 1988); São Miguel (Ponta Delgada), July 1992, leg. Wirtz, det. Warncke ( Wirtz 1994, not seen).