Brachygastra lecheguana, formerly known as Nectarina lecheguana, is a species of dark paper wasp found across North and South America. It nests in underbrush in grassland-type environments, and produces honey, characteristic of the genus Brachygastra.
Brachygastra lecheguana
A Brachygastra lecheguana on sand.
Similar to B. malifolia, the plant Prunus africana has extrafloral nectaries. B. lecheguana is known to visit the nectaries on B. malifolia and to compete with ants for the resource.
Baccharis dracunculifolia is a species of Baccharis from Brazil. B. lecheguana is known to pollinate various members of this genus.
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants or the secretions of other insects, like the honeydew of aphids. This refinement takes place both within individual bees, through regurgitation and enzymatic activity, and during storage in the hive, through water evaporation that concentrates the honey's sugars until it is thick and viscous.
A jar of honey with a honey dipper and an American biscuit
French honey from different floral sources, with visible differences in color and texture
A honey bee with its proboscis extended into a calyx of goldenrod
Honeycomb displaying hexagonal prismatic wax cells in which honey bees store honey
