Augochloropsis sumptuosa, worker bee side

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](https://elninobeelab.ucdavis.edu/) 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 ...View all