Euglossa dilemma

It is about the size of a honey bee or slightly smaller, usually around 1.3 cm long.

It draws attention mainly because of its large size and bright metallic-green colour.

It was split from the very similar Euglossa viridissima in 2011; males of the two species can be told apart by the teeth on their jaws.

It lives across Central America alongside its sibling species, and the orchid bees introduced to Florida belong to this species.

Males were first trapped around Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in summer 2003, by staff of a USDA fruit fly monitoring program.

In Florida it is reported mostly from Broward, Palm Beach and Dade counties, and its future range is predicted to cover almost half of the peninsula.

Females can nest alone or share a nest in small groups, where one dominant, queen-like bee eats eggs laid by the others and replaces them with her own.

Researchers suspect group size may be limited by how well the dominant bee can keep up with replacing eggs; larger groups showed more reproductive conflict.

Females build nest cells from plant resin inside any enclosed cavity, often sealing the entrance with resin and plant debris.

In Florida it visits blue and violet flowers of pickerel weed, among other plants.

Males collect fragrant compounds with mop-like brushes on their front feet.

Males store these scents in pouches on their hind legs and fan them as a perfume that signals they are available as mates.

Most plants it visits in Florida are beneficial, but there is evidence it pollinates certain invasive weeds better than native bees do.

Only females can sting. The sting is less painful than a honey bee's, though they can sting repeatedly.