sweat bee

noun

: any of various small black or brownish bees (family Halictidae) that are attracted to perspiration

Examples of sweat bee in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Common bee species include mason bees, bumblebees, carpenter bees, leafcutter bees and sweat bees, according to the city. Dana Afana, Detroit Free Press, 21 May 2024 Green sweat bees Green sweat bees often nest in the ground or wood and live alone rather than in colonies. Marina Johnson, Detroit Free Press, 4 May 2023 The intricacy of how tiny iridescent sweat bees have evolved to extract pollen from swamp asters and other flowers is not arbitrary. Time, 12 July 2023 There are four main types of green sweat bees in Michigan and they are characterized by their color and short tongues. Marina Johnson, Detroit Free Press, 4 May 2023 This mysterious insect, described recently in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research, was an exceedingly rare gynandromorph—an animal that is anatomically half male, half female—the first one ever identified in the species Megalopta amoena, a type of sweat bee found in Central and South America. Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2020 This is the backend of a Lipotriches (plain sweat bee) collected in Australia. Discover Staff, Discover Magazine, 29 July 2015 Then, there are nocturnal bees, such as Lasioglossum (Sphecodogastra) texana, or the sweat bee, that can fly when during full moons and half moons, the site says. Maria Jimenez Moya, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2022 Erin Krichilsky needed a microscope to discover bilateral gynandromorphy in a tiny sweat bee while working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Jason Bittel, National Geographic, 5 Aug. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sweat bee was in 1894

Dictionary Entries Near sweat bee

Cite this Entry

“Sweat bee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweat%20bee. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.

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