orange-legged furrow bee

(Halictus rubicundus)

Conservation Status
orange-legged furrow bee
Photo by Alfredo Colon
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Orange-legged furrow bee is an exotic, medium-sized, common, and very widespread bee. It is a stretch to call this species exotic. It is native to Europe and Asia. It was probably introduced into North America between 26,000 and 19,000 years ago when there was a land bridge between what are now Russia and Alaska. It now occurs throughout the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere. In North America it has been recorded in every state and province except Nunavut.

The female is to 716 (10 to 11 mm) in length. The head and body are entirely black with whitish hairs and without a metallic greenish cast.

The head is somewhat wider than long. The top of the head is deeply and distinctly pitted (punctured). There are two large compound eyes and between them on top of the head there are three small simple eyes (ocelli). The compound eyes converge slightly toward the bottom. The ocelli are arranged in a triangle. The lateral two ocelli are much closer to the hind margin of the head than to the compound eyes. On the face there is just a single line-like groove extending downward from the base of each antenna (subantennal suture). The cheeks (genae) are slightly wider than the eyes. The tongue is short.

The thorax is deeply and distinctly punctured. The pronotum is short and collar-like. It has a rounded lobe on each side that does not reach the plates covering the wing bases (tegulae). The tegulae are brownish-black and have a narrow translucent rim on the front margin.

The abdomen is minutely and very closely punctured. The punctures on the first abdominal segment are deep and distinct, and they gradually become obscure toward the end of the abdomen. There is a well-defined band of dense white hairs at the rear margin of each segment. On segments one and two the bands are narrowed in the middle.

The legs are mostly black and are covered with yellowish hairs. The fourth leg segment (tibia) has long pollen-collecting hairs (scopa). The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has five segments. The last tarsal segments are rusty orange. This is the feature that gives the bee both its common name and its species epithet.

The wings are mostly translucent with pale reddish-brown veins. The cell (stigma) on the leading edge (costal margin) just before the marginal cell is also pale reddish-brown. The marginal cell is pointed but not sharply pointed. There are three submarginal cells. The first cell is longer than the third. The veins dividing the submarginal cells are dark and prominent. The basal vein is strongly arced at the base, like the letter J.

The male is similar in size and appearance, but the upper lip (labrum), most of the facial plate (clypeus), and the tibia and tarsus of each leg are yellow, and it has no pollen-collecting hairs. The wings are clear but slightly tinged with brown toward the tip.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Female: to 716 (10 to 11 mm)

Male: to 716 (10 to 11 mm)

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

March to September

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

Northern bees tend to be more solitary and southern bees tend to be more social. Minnesota is in the intermediate zone, where both solitary and social behavior can be seen in different nests.

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

 

 
     
 

Larva Food

 
 

Flower pollen

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Flower nectar and pollen

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

 
  2/1/2023      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common and very widespread

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies)  
 

Suborder

Apocrita (narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees)  
 

Infraorder

Aculeata (ants, bees, and stinging wasps)  
 

Superfamily

Apoidea (bees and apoid wasps)  
  Epifamily Anthophila (bees)  
 

Family

Halictidae (sweat bees)  
 

Subfamily

Halictinae (sweat and furrow bees)  
 

Tribe

Halictini  
 

Genus

Halictus (furrow bees)  
  Subgenus Protohalictus  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

orange-legged furrow bee

polymorphic sweat bee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Clypeus

On insects, a hardened plate on the face above the upper lip (labrum).

 

Costal margin

The leading edge of the forewing of insects.

 

Gena

On insects: The area between the compound eye and the mandible; the cheek. On birds: The area between the the angle of the jaw and the bill; the feathered side (outside) of the under mandible. Plural: genae.

 

Labrum

The upper part of the mouth, sometimes considered the lower part of the face, corresponding to the upper lip, on an insect or crustacean.

 

Ocellus

Simple eye; an eye with a single lens. Plural: ocelli.

 

Scopa

A brush-like tuft of hairs on the legs or underside of the abdomen of a bee used to collect pollen.

 

Stigma

In plants, the portion of the female part of the flower that is receptive to pollen. In Lepidoptera, an area of specialized scent scales on the forewing of some skippers, hairstreaks, and moths. In other insects, a thickened, dark, or opaque cell on the leading edge of the wing

 

Tarsus

On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.

 

Tegula

A small, hardened, plate, scale, or flap-like structure that overlaps the base of the forewing of insects in the orders Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Homoptera. Plural: tegulae.

 

Tibia

The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot). The fifth segment of a spider leg or palp.

 

 

 

 

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

Share your photo of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.
 
 

Alfredo Colon

 
    orange-legged furrow bee   orange-legged furrow bee  
           
    orange-legged furrow bee   orange-legged furrow bee  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

 

 
           

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
Halictus rubicundus
Iyptala's Garden
  Halictus rubicundus  

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

Share your video of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
 
 

 

 
     
     
       
       
 
Other Videos
 
  solitary bee Halictus rubicundus investigating nest sites
Martin Harvey
 
   
 
About

Apr 10, 2015

A short and rather wobbly video of the bee Halictus rubicundus. Filmed at Preston Montford Field Studies Centre, on an area of sandy bank at the edge of a pond.

 
  Halictus rubicundus
Gilberto Squizzato
 
   
 
About

May 7, 2018

 
  Halictus rubicundus in Lady Dixon Park 20/04/2019 video 1
Hrubicundus
 
   
 
About

Apr 22, 2019

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
  Alfredo Colon
8/2/2022

Location: Albany, NY

orange-legged furrow bee  
  Alfredo Colon
8/14/2019

Location: Woodbury, MN

orange-legged furrow bee  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

Binoculars


Created: 2/1/2023

Last Updated:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved.