Photo: janet graham / CC BY 2.0

Lasioglossum villosulum

Shaggy Mining Bee

A small sweat bee (6–7 mm) with a metallic green head and thorax, a black abdomen with narrow white hair bands (often absent), and distinctly pale hind tibiae in females. It is bivoltine, flying from March to October. It nests solitarily in self-excavated burrows in bare soil, sometimes in small aggregations. In Switzerland it is common and widespread from lowland gardens and meadows to montane elevations. It has a broad diet, visiting flowers from many families including Ranunculaceae, Asteraceae, Rosaceae, and Apiaceae. Swiss Red List: Least Concern (LC).