Augochloropsis sumptuosa, worker bee

The gorgeous metallic blue-green Augochloropsis sumptuosa is a semisocial bee from the center of the eastern United States. We at the bee collective have decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from this NFT to the E. L. Niño Bee Lab at UC Davis. Two major contributors of colony decline or collapse is queen bee loss and Varroa destructor mites. Queen bees are the only reproductive female in a colony and as such are vital for supporting the entire colony. Varroa mites are the top parasite of honey bees and colonies with a high number of mites are likely to die over the winter season. With this in mind, their mission-based research focuses both on the biochemical mechanisms of queen bee b...View all