SOCIAL-BEHAVIOR AND NEST ARCHITECTURE OF NOMIINE BEES (HYMENOPTERA, HALICTIDAE, NOMIINAE)

To facilitate future comparative studies among halictid bees, we revie w social behavior and nest architecture for 21 species of Nomiinae (Ha lictidae). Nothing is known of the biology of the vast majority of nam ed species. Approximately half of the species consist of solitary bees , and half consist of females which live within social groups. Social organization varies among species, but there is insufficient informati on to assess whether it also varies within species. All nomiines nest in the ground, and nest architecture is variable within the subfamily. Architectural characters may provide some useful information for taxo nomic and systematic purposes.