biology

Nesagapostemon

Nesagapostemon is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nesagapostemon rather than just read about it. In short: Nesagapostemon is an extinct monotypic genus of sweat bee in the Halictidae subfamily Halictinae. At present, it contains the single species Nesagapostemon moronei.

Key takeaways

Nesagapostemon belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nesagapostemon to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nesagapostemon from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nesagapostemon is an extinct monotypic genus of sweat bee in the Halictidae subfamily Halictinae. At present, it contains the single species Nesagapostemon moronei. The genus name Nesagapostemon is derived from a combination of the Greek nesos, meaning "island", and Agapostemon, a very similar genus of halictids which may be related. The species is named in honor of Ettore Morone of Turin, Italy. The species is known from the holotype, a single 9.9 millimetres (0.39 in) long female currently in the private collection owned by Morone (catalog number MACT-1172), and which was first studied by Dr. Michael S. Engel. Engel published his type description in ZooKeys in 2009. The holotype is fairly well preserved in early Miocene (Burdigalian stage) Dominican amber from deposits on the island of Hispaniola. However the animal has several fractures around the metasoma. In addition, a number of small bubbles and orange debris in the amber surround the body and three Proplebeia dominicana workers, also trapped in the amber, obscure portions of the body. The forewings of the Nesagapostemon female are 9.9 millimetres (0.39 in) and held at an angle to line of the thorax. Though hard to determine because of the preservation, where visible, the specimen has a metallic coloration to the head and thorax. The antenna are dark brown while the tegula is translucent brown and the metasomal tegra are dark brown with weak metallic green highlights. The legs are dark reddish brown and the wings are hyaline with brown veins. Nesagapostemon is one of only five Halictidae genera which are known from the Dominican amber record, three of which are totally extinct. Nesagapostemon has a strong keel or carina encircling the Propodeum. The basal area of the Propodeum, not slanting in profile, is only half of the length of the vertical posterior surface. The related extinct halictid genus Eickwortapis has a longer basal area on the Propodeum and it does slant in profile. The middle legs have a dense covering of hairs, those on the inner surface being long enough to cover the metatibial spurs and those on the outside being long and plumose. Unlike Eickwortapis the inner metatibial spur on Nesagapostemon is hooked and the inner border of the "C" vein is double the length of the pterostigma.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nesagapostemon

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nesagapostemon claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nesagapostemon before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nesagapostemon ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nesagapostemon

In research: Nesagapostemon appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nesagapostemon in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nesagapostemon is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Burdigalian life, Dominican amber, Fauna of Hispaniola, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nesagapostemon outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nesagapostemon in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nesagapostemon means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nesagapostemon out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nesagapostemon in simple terms?

Nesagapostemon is an extinct monotypic genus of sweat bee in the Halictidae subfamily Halictinae. At present, it contains the single species Nesagapostemon moronei.

Why does Nesagapostemon matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nesagapostemon?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nesagapostemon.