Coppery Sweat Bee vs Yellow-legged Hornet

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Coppery Sweat Bee Yellow-legged Hornet
Scientific Name Augochloropsis sumptuosa Vespa velutina
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Halictidae Vespidae
Size 8-11 mm 20-30 mm
Habitat Farmland Woodlands
Diet Nectar Feeders Predators
Regions South America East Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Coppery Sweat Bee

A stout metallic bee with brilliant coppery-green iridescence found across South America. It is a solitary ground-nesting species that visits a broad range of flowers.

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Did You Know?

Its coppery metallic coloring shifts between green, gold, and red depending on the angle of light striking its exoskeleton.

Yellow-legged Hornet

An invasive Asian hornet with a dark body and yellow leg tips now spreading rapidly across Europe. It is a major predator of honeybees near hive entrances.

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Did You Know?

Since arriving in France in 2004 in a shipment of pottery, it has spread to most of Western Europe.