Queen Sweat Bees Manipulate Role Of Female Brood

Research shows that the queen sweat bee determines the role of the female brood by controlling its food. First generations of the nest are restricted food so that the bees will grow to be workers rather than reproducers.

The sweat bee, Halictus scabiosae, is a common bee throughout the world except Australia and Southeast Asia. They are named sweat bees because of their attraction to human sweat, specifically the salt in the sweat.]

The bees are small in size (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch or 4-10 mm). And are known to sting when agitated. The pain of a sweat bee sting is minor but can be complicated and even deadly to persons allergic to bee stings.

Most bees in the Halictid family forage and are active at dusk or in the early evening. Also, their social structure is considered "eusocial".

A eusocial system is characterized by three things:

1. Cooperative brood care - The whole nest help in caring for the young.
2. Overlapping adult generations - The nest is composed of different generations
3. Division of labor - work responsibilities in the nest are distributed among the population based on reproductive capabilities.