Common Blue-banded Bee - The Australian Museum Termessa diplographa Turner, 1899 Masked bees What are insects? Case-bearing Clothes Moth Vinegar Fly You may also be interested in. Discover more Cuckoo bees Cuckoo bees Hover flies Hover flies Five Things: How to help our native bees Live at the AM 4 February 2023 Find out more Nomia bees Blue Banded Bees are amongst our most beautiful Australian native bees. They are about 11 mm long and have bands of metallic blue fur across their black abdomens. Blue Banded Bees are solitary bees. This means that each female bee mates and then builds a solitary nest by herself.
Media release Headbanging Aussie bee takes a heavy metal approach to pollination Environment
There are eleven species of described blue-banded bees in Australia ranging in size from 8-14 mm. They are also known as long-tongued bees or buzz pollinators. Blue-banded bees are solitary and are found in all states of Australia except Tasmania. They have a sting but are not aggressive. Blue-banded bees are one of a few native Australian bee species that perform a particular type of pollination known as 'buzz pollination'. Amegilla cingulata is a species of blue-banded bee native to Australia. Currently, several scientific organizations are conducting research on how A. cingulata benefits agriculture through its distinctive "buzz pollination". Taxonomy A. cingulata was first described by Danish entomologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. [1] Blue banded bees are debatably the most beautiful of Australia's bees - and yes, they are native to Australia! They are about 11 mm long, with a furry red-brown thorax and striking bands of metallic blue across their black abdomens; a stark contrast to the usual colourings of their relatives.
Bluebanded bee, a native beauty Australian Geographic
Native Australian pollinators Blue Banded Bees are amongst our most distinctive and best-loved native bees found in most regions of the continent - 14 Australian Amegilla species. Solitary females typically excavate nest tunnels in soil to rear multiple generations per year. Males often form collective night-roosts attached to plant stems. Blue-banded Bees are one of the most prominent native bees to visit our plants. They are slightly smaller than Australia's well-known Blowflies. Blue-banded Bees have black abdomens that have distinctive pale metallic-blue bands. Males have five complete bands and females have four. Both sexes have a dart-and-hover flight pattern. The Blue Banded Bees are around 8-13 mm long and belong to the family Apidae. They are found Australia-wide, except for Tasmania. Erica Siegel - Blue Banded Bee 2010 Gallery. Erica Siegel - Blue Banded Bee 2011 Gallery. Videos of Blue Banded Bees. More Information on Blue Banded Bees. Free Articles on Blue Banded Bees. In Australia, the blue banded bees and the stingless bees show potential as specialist pollinators. Very few of Australia's 2,000 native bee species have been investigated so far for their potential contribution to Australian agriculture. More research into the use of Australian native bees in agriculture is urgently needed.
Blue Banded Bee and Crane Fly up close Pollinator Link
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet See more Australian Native bees Below: Stingless Bees Australia has eleven species of small black stingless bees. Blue Banded Bees Blue Banded Bees are amongst our most beautiful Australian native bees. LEARN MORE Yellow & Black Carpenter Bees Yellow and Black Carpenter Bees are the largest bees in Australia. According to an article in ABC Science (Australia), the blue-banded bee dislodges the pollen by banging her head onto the anthers of the flower 350 times per second—a speed that's beyond my comprehension. Compare that to the bumble bee, queen of buzz pollination here in the states.
Proudly supporting Australian Native Bees since 1997. BREAKING NEWS: Native Bees and the Varroa Mite Crisis See our list of hive sellers. Need help with your stingless bees? Stingless bee keeping tips. Like to identify a bee you've seen? Galleries of photos & videos. Which native bees are in your area? Read our introductory guide. Since seeing the blue banded bee in my garden, I became interested to read more about them. Here's what I've discovered: 1. Blue Banded Bees Are Native To Australia. Blue banded bees are quite different from European honey bees and are one of approximately 1,700 reported species of native Australian bee.
Blue banded bee (cropped) steven Flickr
The blue-banded bee is a species of solitary bee that belongs to two subgenera that are indigenous to Australia, Notomegilla and Zonamegilla. Although there are approximately 252 species of blue-banded bees in the genus Amegilla, only a few actually possess blue bands on their abdomens.They are primarily those species belonging to the Notomegilla and Zonamegilla subgenera. Australian native bees are a group of bees that play a crucial role in the pollination of native plants. There are over 1,700 species of native bees in Australia, [1] ranging from small solitary bees to the social stingless bees.
