Halictus

Halictus are small to medium-sized ground nesting bees. They have a dark cuticle and short pilosity that forms bands of pale hairs alongside the margins of the abdominal tergites. These bands may be complete or interrupted in the middle, occasionally also extending to the bases of the tergites. Like other halictids, females have an apical bald groove on the last tergite (“rima”). Males have a more slender, elongated build and they have distinctively long antennae, sometimes with yellow markings that match the color of their legs and face. They usually excavate their own nest on light soils. This genus has considerable variation in social organization, including species that are primarily solitary, form communal nests or even engage in social behavior, sometimes adjusting their lifestyle according to environmental conditions (“behavioral plasticity”).