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May 13, 2021 09:07
3 yrs ago
31 viewers *
German term

Sandsteppenbiene

German to English Science Zoology
also known as Dünen-Steppenbiene
Scientific name: Nomioides minutissimus

I cannot find a common English name anywhere. This is for a children's audioguide (bee-themed exhibition) so I really don't want to use the Latin name. Perhaps someone has come across this?
Proposed translations (English)
4 +4 Suggestion
3 +3 dune steppe bee|sand steppe bee
4 +1 sweat bee Nomioides minutissimus
4 sand dune bee / desert bee / grassy plain bee

Discussion

philgoddard May 13, 2021:
Definitely not "desert". They live in sandy environments in large parts of the world, including Europe. And they are a member of the sweat-bee family, Halictidae, but nomioides doesn't mean sweat. That's "sudo". I haven't found what it means, but it's often a person's name.
Ramey Rieger (X) May 13, 2021:
tiny sweat bees when you translate the Latin literally
Ramey Rieger (X) May 13, 2021:
Maybe this? Here, they'Re called desert bees, but I don't know if it fits your description:
https://undark.org/2018/05/23/desert-bees-new-mexico/
Mair A-W (PhD) May 13, 2021:
I don't think this bee *has* a common English name. It really depends exactly what your context is how you handle it. Could you discuss with the client swapping it out for a different bee? If the particular bee isn't important, could you simply say "a type of sweat bee"? Could you say something like "this bee has a long Latin name. In Germany, they call it a sand dune bee"?

Proposed translations

+4
3 hrs
Selected

Suggestion

I've done dozens of audioguides, and they've always encouraged me to be creative, especially with kids.

I'd be reluctant to make up a common name when there almost certainly isn't one - I've looked.

Presumably the Latin name will appear on the screen. Even if it doesn't, you could say something like: "This bee doesn't have an English name, but in Latin it's called nomioides minutissimus. Minutissimus means extremely minute, and you can see why. It is TINY."
Peer comment(s):
agree Brent Sørensen : I think this is a good approach
2 hrs
agree uyuni : or just leave it in Latin...
3 hrs
agree Cillie Swart : Yeah, makes sense
4 hrs
agree Mair A-W (PhD)
20 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Geat suggestion. Thank you! "
+3
3 mins

dune steppe bee|sand steppe bee

The dune steppe bee or sand steppe bee (Nomioides minutissimus) is a hymenoptera from the Halictidae family
https://de.zxc.wiki/wiki/Dünen-Steppenbiene
Note from asker:
@ Brent und Mair A-W - Yes, I found this too but I was searching for a more trustworthy source.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Mair A-W (PhD) : this is just a wiki editor literally translating from the German... and no other hits
34 mins
agree uyuni : https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/een.12304
6 hrs
agree Décio Adams
13 hrs
agree Liane Poost
1 day 10 hrs
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1 hr

sand dune bee / desert bee / grassy plain bee

seems like a simple solution that suits the context.
Reference:

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/steppe/

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+1
3 hrs

sweat bee Nomioides minutissimus

I googled the scientific name and like everyone else, I didn't find an English language common name either. With insect species, especially ones that aren't (may not be) native to any English speaking countries, this isn't surprising, considering that there are more species of insects than of everything else combined. But this species is in the family Halictidae, members of which are known as sweat bees. Worldwide there are many similar-looking species in this family. At first mention anyway, I would render it as "the sweat bee Nomioides minutissimus" or "sweat bees (Nomioides minutissimus)", etc. and thereafter simply as "sweat bee" or "sweat bees" if it is the only sweat bee/Halictid species mentioned in your text.
Peer comment(s):
agree Michele Fauble : https://www.alamy.com/sweat-bee-nomioides-minutissima-nomioi...
4 hrs
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