Green Metallic Sweat Bee

Augochloropsis metallica · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Halictidae

Also called: Metallic Epauletted-sweat Bee

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Green Metallic Sweat Bee
Photo: Jim McCulloch, CC BY

The metallic epauletted-sweat bee is a bright green sweat bee in the Halictidae family. It is native to Central America and parts of the United States, especially the Midwest, Northeast and the South. Recent taxonomy split the former subspecies metallica and fulgida into five distinct species.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

A bright green sweat bee in the family Halictidae.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range includes Central America and parts of North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 40 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Mississippi.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

More photos

Green Metallic Sweat Bee photo 3
Photo: Amy Schnebelin, CC BY
Green Metallic Sweat Bee photo 4
Photo: Amy Schnebelin, CC BY
Green Metallic Sweat Bee photo 5
Photo: Robert Webster, CC BY-SA
Green Metallic Sweat Bee photo 6
Photo: Alie / C.A. Kratzer, CC BY-SA

Same family (Halictidae)

Ligated Furrow BeeLigated Furrow BeeHalictus ligatusPure Green Sweat beePure Green Sweat beeAugochlora puraBicolored Striped Sweat BeeBicolored Striped Sweat BeeAgapostemon virescensGreat Banded Furrow BeeGreat Banded Furrow BeeHalictus scabiosaeOrange-legged Furrow BeeOrange-legged Furrow BeeHalictus rubicundusTripartite Sweat BeeTripartite Sweat BeeHalictus tripartitus

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augochloropsis_metallica

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.