Photo: janet graham / CC BY 2.0

Lasioglossum fratellum

Brotherly Furrow Bee

A small sweat bee (6–8 mm) with a metallic green to bronze head and thorax and a black abdomen with narrow white hair bands. The scutum is densely and finely punctate with a dull surface. It is a generalist (polylectic) forager visiting flowers from several plant families including Asteraceae and Rosaceae. The nesting biology is not fully understood but it is believed to nest in self-excavated burrows in bare soil, possibly in small aggregations. It is found in forests, forest edges, and mountain meadows. In Switzerland it occurs from montane to alpine elevations in the Alps and Jura, flying from May to September. Swiss Red List: Least Concern (LC).