Bug FAQPure Green Sweat bee
Augochlora pura · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Halictidae
Also called: Pure gold-green sweat bee, Pure golden green sweat bee
Pure Green Sweat bee is a small, bright-green bee about 8 mm long that lives in rotting wood in eastern North America. It visits many flowers, sometimes licks human sweat for salt, and has two to three generations each year.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The whole body shines bright green, unlike the dull green of many Lasioglossum bees. Males may have darker jaws and a slightly bluer tint, but otherwise look like females.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Both males and females are about 8 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
No biting or stinging behavior has been recorded; they only lick sweat.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They build nests in decaying wood in forests and even in suburban wood piles. Adults stay near their nests but also wander into nearby brush and pastures.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Forages on many flowers, including less showy ones like walnut. Both sexes have been seen licking human sweat, probably for salt.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
There are two to three generations each year, limited by the seasons. Females become active in late summer, mate, and then enter ovarian diapause under moist soil beneath rotting logs.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Active from February through November, with longer seasons farther south. Flight period runs from early April to September.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Found mainly in the eastern United States, from Maine west to Minnesota and south to Texas and Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Can be confused with dull-green Lasioglossum species such as L. zephyrus.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 44 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, New York, Vermont, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Do Pure Green Sweat bees bite or sting?
No biting or stinging has been observed; they only lick human sweat for salt.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I identify this bee?
Look for a small (≈8 mm) bee that is entirely bright green, with males sometimes showing darker jaws and a slight blue tint.
Source: Wikipedia
Where might I find them?
In rotting wood in forests or suburban wood piles across the eastern United States, especially near brush and pastures.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Halictidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augochlora_pura
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.