Tripartite Sweat Bee

Halictus tripartitus · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Halictidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Tripartite Sweat Bee
Photo: Catherine C. Galley, CC BY

The Tripartite Sweat Bee visits and pollinates Silene spaldingii plants. It lives in partially eusocial colonies with underground nests, and some workers can also reproduce.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Feeds on the flowers of Silene spaldingii as a pollinator.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Forms partially eusocial colonies with underground nests; some workers are capable of reproduction.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 19 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, South Dakota, Arizona, Utah, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Texas.

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

Source: GBIF

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

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Tripartite Sweat Bee photo 3
Photo: Catherine C. Galley, CC BY
Tripartite Sweat Bee photo 4
Photo: Catherine C. Galley, CC BY
Tripartite Sweat Bee photo 5
Photo: Catherine C. Galley, CC BY
Tripartite Sweat Bee photo 6
Photo: Parker James Lloyd, CC BY

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 rubicundusTexas AgapostemonTexas AgapostemonAgapostemon texanus

Sources

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

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.

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.