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Pure Gold-Green Sweat Bee

Augochlora pura[3]

The pure gold-green sweat bee is a small, metallic green native bee that nests in rotting wood and pollinates many flowers.[1][2]

Group
Insect
Order
Hymenoptera
Family
Halictidae
US records
34 states
Sources
3 cited
Updated
2026-10-16
Pure gold-green sweat bee, metallic green, on a leaf
Pure gold-green sweat bee, metallic green, on a leaf. (c) Bernie Paquette, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Look-alikes
  3. Where it lives
  4. Biology
  5. Damage and signs
  6. Health risk
  7. Control
  8. Related profiles
  9. Common questions
  10. Sources

How to identify it

  • Adults are small and brilliantly iridescent green to blue or gold, with a finely pitted body surface.[1][2]
  • Females carry pollen on hairy hind legs; males have one more antennal segment and are usually smaller.[1]

Look-alikes

Look-alikeHow to tell them apart
Cuckoo waspsAlso small and metallic blue-green, but deeply pitted, able to roll into a ball, and the females can't sting.[2]
Sweat beesOne of many sweat bees, a family of small, non-aggressive bees attracted to perspiration.[2]

Where it lives

Native to the eastern United States from Quebec to Florida, west to Minnesota and Texas.[1]

US map: public records from 34 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Females build galleries of cells in moist, rotting wood, often in old insect burrows, provisioning each cell with a ball of pollen and nectar and one egg.[1]

It is active from February to November in the South and April to September in the North; egg to adult takes 17 to 40 days.[1]

Damage and signs

  • No damage: it is an important native pollinator in eastern deciduous forests and other habitats.[1]

Health risk

Sweat bees are small and not aggressive, though they are drawn to perspiration.[2]

Control

Prevention

No control is needed; sweat bees are small, gentle pollinators.[1][2]

Common questions

What is the tiny shiny green bee landing on my arm?
Possibly a sweat bee such as the pure gold-green sweat bee, attracted to perspiration.[1][2]

Sources

  1. University of Florida IFAS Extension (EDIS, Featured Creatures), “Pure Gold-Green Sweat Bee, Augochlora pura (EENY-715).” ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN1225 (accessed 2026-10-16)
  2. Missouri Department of Conservation, “Halictid Bees (Sweat Bees) (Field Guide).” mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/halictid-bees-sweat-bees (accessed 2026-10-16)
  3. iNaturalist, “Augochlora pura taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/82523 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-16. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.