Image: Damon Wilder
For a long time people thought that blue banded bees were only attracted to blue and purple flowers. While it is true that they have a particular fondness for blue things (and not just flowers), they will feed on flowers of any colour.
The native blue banded bee lives a very different life to the introduced honey bee that many Australians are familiar with. Each female builds her own shallow burrow where she raises her little brood by herself. The males, however, are left out in the cold. At night males hang by their jaws from the stems of plants, waiting for the morning sun to warm them. Some evenings you may spot a group of them jostling for the best roosting position on a single stem.
Scientific name: Amegilla cingulata
Size: 8-13mm
Distribution: Most of Australia except TAS and NT
Our Backyard Bugs photographic series celebrates the diverse and exciting range of of insects found around Australia. For more amazing images, visit Natural Selection Media.
clutches
June 7, 2011
Exactly where do these nerds get this stuff?
Amber Stevens Interview
March 31, 2012
Hello there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Thank you
Science Illustrated
April 1, 2012
Thanks, Amber. Feel free to share it with your myspace group 🙂