In Minnesota, the family Halictidae includes ten bee genera including four metallic green sweat bee genera (Agapostemon, Augochlora, Augochlorella, and Augochloropsis); one genus of cleptoparasitic (cuckoo) bees, Sphecodes; and five other genera (Dieunomia, Dufourea, Halictus, Lasioglossum, and Nomia). Bees in this family range in size from extremely tiny Lasioglossum (small sweat bees) to very large Dieunomia.

The majority of bees in this family nest in the ground; a small minority nest in pre-existing cavities in wood. Some species such Agapostemon splendens have strong preferences for nesting in specific types of soil such as sand while other species are less selective and commonly nest in urban and suburban gardens in a variety of soils. The sociality is across the spectrum in this family with many solitary species; and some communal, semi-social, and social species. Sociality in this family can vary at the species-level, changing in a given region due to altitude, length of the growing season, and other factors.

This family includes a small number of pollen-collecting specialists (oligolectic bees) including all seven species within the genera Dieunomia and Dufourea; and an additional seven species, six within the very diverse genus Lasioglossum, and one in the genus Nomia.