Exaerete smaragdina is a species of kleptoparasitic euglossine bees.Catalogue of life
Description Exaerete smaragdina can reach a length of about . Body color is metallic green. The metatibiae are three times longer than wide in both sexes. Like other "cuckoo bees", females lack a pollen-carrying apparatus.Exaerete smaragdina at Dugesiana Dugesiana 14(1): 43-44 - Universidad de Guadalajar
Behavior These solitary bees do not build nests, as they are kleptoparasites of Eulaema nigrita and Eufriesea surinamensis. Usually they wait for the host bees to leave the nest, then they lay their eggs in a completed cell. They go through five larval stages. In the second larval stage they kill the host egg. Adult males collect aromatic substances from flowers, mainly orchids. These substances are possibly used in reproduction to attract females.Abejas polinizadoras de orquídea at Info JardinGarófalo, Carlos Alberto.; Rozen, Jerome George, Parasitic behavior of Exaerete smaragdina with descriptions of its mature oocyte and larval instars (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossini). American Museum Novitates; no. 3349 Phylogeny of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Exaerete (Hymenoptera: Apidae)
Distribution This species is present in Central and Southern America, from Mexico to Argentina.Disc over life
References