Dark furrow bee
Lasioglossum fulvicorne
The dark furrow bee is a widespread wild bee species that prefers open landscapes, forest edges, and gardens. It nests in self-dug underground burrows and often exhibits a primitively eusocial lifestyle, forming small communities. As a polylectic species, it is not dependent on specific plants and visits a wide variety of different flower families.
Details
Identification
Body dark brown to black, slightly metallic; tergites with narrow hair bands; males with yellow markings on the head (clypeus).
Social behavior
Primitively eusocial; forms small colonies with a queen and a few workers, also solitary in some regions.
Diet
Polylectic; collects pollen and nectar from plants of over 10 families, including Asteraceae and Brassicaceae.
Spawning substrate
Self-dug burrows in sandy, loamy, or vegetated soil.
Overwintering
Mated females overwinter in the maternal nests or specially dug underground burrows.
Ecology
Ecological role
Important pollinator in various ecosystems; serves as a host for cuckoo bees.
Natural predators
Cuckoo bees (e.g., Sphecodes species), spiders, birds, and predatory flies.
Competitor species
Other ground-nesting wild bees such as Halictus or Andrena species.
Ecosystem service
Pollination of wild plants and agricultural crops.
Threats
Loss of nesting sites due to soil sealing and intensive agriculture; use of pesticides.
Scientific profile
Profile
Distinguishing features
Small species of the genus Lasioglossum (subgenus Evylaeus). Females with a longitudinal furrow at the end of the 5th tergite (genus characteristic). Tergites are almost hairless and shiny. Males have strikingly pale undersides of the antennae and an elongated abdomen. Reliable identification often requires microscopic examination of the mesonotum punctation and the genital capsule (Source: Scheuchl, Westrich).
Habitat
Structurally rich forest edges, clearings, hedges, nutrient-poor grasslands, orchard meadows, and occasionally gardens. Prefers moderately moist to dry locations, often in hilly or mountainous regions.
Protection & threats
Main threats
General decline of flower-rich edge structures, intensification of forestry and agriculture, and the sealing or excessive stabilization of forest and field paths.
Population trend
Stable; the species is considered widespread in Germany and Central Europe and is currently not threatened (Red List Germany: Least Concern).
Conservation measures
Preservation and promotion of ecotones, avoidance of pesticides at forest edges, and promotion of unsealed, sandy, or loamy path structures.