Mating Behavior in Halictine Bees (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

Studied two types of mate‐orientation behavior in ♂♂ of the sweat bee, Lasioglossum rohweri : microterritoriality and patrolling. Observations were made in both the laboratory and the field. These ♂♂ behave uniquely for Hymenoptera in that 2–5 of them establish microterritories immediately around the same nest entrance. Some ♂♂ are exclusively patrollers, flying about flowers and nest sites. Rendezvous places (locations where animals are likely to find mates) in bees are: flowers, nesting sites, vegetative parts of plants, nest entrances, air, and nests. Territoriality in male bees may have arisen independently in 7 of the 9 families of bees.