This Sweat Bee had a black and white abdomen and was smaller
than a honey bee. It was feeding on black-eyed susan blossoms.
It is either Halictus farinosus or Halictus rubicundus. The
local bee expert is inclined to favor H. rubicundus but cannot
be 100% sure. Urban house flower garden. The genus Halictus is a
large assemblage of bee species in the family Halictidae. The
genus is divided into 15 subgenera, containing well over 300
species, primarily in the Northern Hemisphere (a few species
occur in South America and Africa). Most species are black or
dark brown, sometimes metallic greenish-tinted, with apical
whitish abdominal bands (the related genus Lasioglossum, which
is otherwise often similar in appearance, has the abdominal hair
bands located basally, not apically). Many species in the genus
are eusocial, with colony sizes range from very small (2-4 bees)
to large (>200). Nests are typically underground burrows, with
several ovoid "cells" in which pollen mixed with nectar is
provided as food for the de