Halictidae

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Halictidae (sweat bees; order Hymenoptera, suborder Apocrita) Large, cosmopolitan family of mining bees, of great interest to behaviourists because the family encompasses all the grades of sociality. Like those of the Colletidae, the brood cells are lined with macrocyclic lactones secreted by the Dufour's gland. Small species of Lasioglossum are attracted to human perspiration and hence the name ‘sweat bees’.

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