Lasioglossum zephyrum
In 3 days ~10%
Lasioglossum zephyrus is a sweat bee of the family Halictidae, found in the U.S. and Canada. It appears in the literature primarily under the misspelling "zephyrum". It is considered a primitively eusocial bee (meaning that they do not have a permanent division of labor within colonies), although it may be facultatively solitary (i.e., displaying both solitary and eusocial behaviors). The species nests in burrows in the soil.
The order Hymenoptera contains more eusocial species than any other order. Eusociality has many origins and is present in many degrees within Hymenoptera, with L. zephyrus being one of the more primitive examples. The genus Lasioglossum is predominantly eusocial, but has a high level of variation in sociality. For instance, Lasioglossum zephyrus, as well as another species of this family of bees, Halictidae, Halictus ligatus, are known for their characteristic primitively eusocial behavior. This unique type of eusociality gives insight about the evolutionary background of eusociality of these species. Six species within this genus have reverted to solitary life, social polymorphism, or parasitism. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Zephyr Sweat Bee sighting in Toronto on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 1544th most-seen of the 1689 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Zephyr Sweat Bee in Toronto on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
4th of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Zephyr Sweat Bee sightings, Toronto ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (United States, about 10%), Washington (United States, under 5%) and New York City (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Zephyr Sweat Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Toronto (5 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
