Augochlora pura

As solitary bees, A. pura females do not remain in their mother's nest if she is alive. However, there may be times in which A. pura females group together. When the mother is old or deceased, multiple young females may live as a group. Multiple females have also been seen huddled together while overwintering. There is no worker caste, and reproductive females are not cooperative. Bees attempting to enter a nest that does not belong to them will be promptly attacked. Mothers have even been observed to attack their own offspring. If nests meet by chance, a wall is quickly constructed between them.[8] Males return to the same sleeping places each night, and may sleep in groups of up to six males, but only if sleeping places are limited. In this case, all males sleeping together face the same direction.[8] Males enter vacant nests and attack any other males attempting to enter.[10]

A. pura is able to avoid destroying new cells. They differentiate them from other walls of the burrows through the odor of fresh pollen in combination with the shape and texture of new cells. They are thought to be able to feel the texture and integrity of walls to determine their composition.[12]

Augochlora pura mates while visiting flowers. All, or nearly all, females mate.[8] Males fly in swarms and hover over flowers. They fly from flower to flower and feed, and land on any similarly sized insect on a flower. In fact, they even pounce on black dots on paper.[13] When a male finds a receptive female, he mates with her for from three seconds through two minutes. Instead of pursuing females in the air, A. pura males wait for them to land on flowers. As in Lasioglossum zephyrum, the odors of A. pura females function as aphrodisiacs.[13] Males have been observed to stack themselves on top of a copulating male, attempting to mate with that one female. Augochlora pura males have been observed to stroke the female's head with their antennae before and during copulation. During copulation, the male will release his grasp and remain connected only by his genitalia. Females may attempt to crawl or bite the male's metasoma. Copulation in the field lasts for approximately 28.5 seconds. Males have not been shown to have a preference for either young or old females.[13]

Females behave rhythmically during their nesting phase. They construct cells, one at a time, during the night. They forage throughout the morning, feeding on nectar first, and then collecting pollen. Then, they spend their afternoons forming balls of provisions, performing oviposition, and capping cells. If guarding occurs, it tends to happen during midday or the afternoon.[8]

Augochlora pura is known for its economy of labor. It can build its cells in various arrangements depending on environmental constraints. Steps in the cell construction process are sometimes omitted. For example, the primary cell construction is skipped if an old cell can be utilized. This plasticity is pivotal to the parasitic and social behaviors of halictids.[8]

Augochlora pura forages on a variety of flowers, including more inconspicuous flowers like walnut. They have been observed visiting over 40 distinct species. In the laboratory, A. pura even foraged for nectar, pollen, or both at foreign flowers not found near their natural habitat. A female collect pollen from up to ten flowers to provision a single cell, and these are often from different species.[8] Males exhibit patrolling behavior. They fly between specific flowers, and maintain this route continuously with only short rests. They fly so quickly that they may be difficult to follow visually.[10]