Small Scissor Bee vs Painted Dark Sweat Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Small Scissor Bee Painted Dark Sweat Bee
Scientific Name Chelostoma florisomne Lasioglossum pictum
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Megachilidae Halictidae
Size 7-10 mm 6-7 mm
Habitat Woodlands Beaches & Coastal
Diet Wood Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe Western Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Small Scissor Bee

A slender black solitary bee that nests in beetle borings in dead wood. It is a specialist pollinator of buttercups.

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Did You Know?

Males often sleep inside buttercup flowers at night, clinging to the petals as they close.

Painted Dark Sweat Bee

A small dark furrow bee with fine punctation on its thorax found in western Europe. It nests in sparsely vegetated ground and visits a range of open flowers.

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Did You Know?

It is so small and nondescript that it can only be reliably identified from other Lasioglossum species under a microscope.