Agapostemon Splendens

A colorful example of the large bee family Halictidae, the little sweat bee Agapostemon splendens earns her species 'splendid' with this jewel-like emerald thorax and tidy black and yellow striping. All the photos show her on New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae) but you will find her on many other flowers as well. At this time of year she is busy gathering pollen to build tiny underground homes for her offspring, which she lines with balls of pollen so they may eat once they hatch out of their eggs. 

Agapostemon splendens