Description
A female green sweat bee — genus Agapostemon — green from her face to the tip of her abdomen. Only the females look like this. The males of the same species wear a gold-and-black striped abdomen and are so different that most people assume they are looking at two species.
Here is the thing about that green: there is no green pigment in this bee at all.
The colour is structural. Her cuticle is built in microscopically thin layers, and light reflecting off those layers interferes with itself — some wavelengths reinforced, others cancelled — so what reaches your eye is green that has no dye behind it. It is the same physics as a peacock feather, a soap bubble, or an oil slick on a wet street. Grind up a green beetle and the powder is grey; the colour lives in the architecture, not the material.
Which is also why she is so difficult to photograph. A structural surface behaves like polished metal, and direct sun blows it to white. This was made under cloud, on the fifth attempt.
What you will receive: a high-resolution JPEG, 5468 x 3072 pixels — large enough to print at full photo quality up to about 18 × 10 inches at 300 DPI. Delivered as an instant download the moment your order is complete.
License: Personal use only. Print it for your own home, use it as a wallpaper or screen background, enjoy it yourself. Not licensed for commercial use, resale, redistribution, or AI training. © Jonathan Swanson / JonSwan Productions. All rights reserved.