Pests and Diseases Image Library
Pests and Diseases Image Library
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Lasioglossum (Australictus) peraustrale Females: The nesting aggregation is in an old tree stump. The video shows that aggregations of nesting tunnels can be very large and more than one female occupies a single tunnel. Incidentally, despite the large number of individuals coming and going, no bees were found on flowers at eye level in the surrounding area. Copyright Michael Batley  Top of Page |
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Lasioglossum (Australictus) peraustrale Males: Filmed in the morning as the bees were warming up, the location was a Callistemon in a suburban garden. The smaller bees are Homalictus punctatus males. The video shows how the L. peraustrale males hold their wings erect like the wasps they mimic and shows that there can be variation in colour. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Lasioglossum (Callalictus) callomelittinum Females: The wingtips can be seen vibrating as the bees buzz pollen from the anthers of Bulbine bulbosa. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Lasioglossum (Callalictus) callomelittinum Males: The white on the legs and the characteristic hair pattern on the venter can be seen. This is a good demonstration of what is meant by a short-tongued bee. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Trichocolletes maximus: Only two flower-visiting records are known for Trichocolletes maximus. On both occasions the bee visited Swainsona procumbens. The twisted keel and style of this flower fit the bee beautifully and the interaction between the flower and the insect is worthy of more detailed investigation. The video was recorded on the outskirts of Mungindi. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Trichocolletes erythrurus: Trichocolletes erythrurus visiting Kennedia coccinea. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Scaevola floral visitations: The unusual shape of the flowers in the family Goodeniaceae affects the behaviour of bees visiting them. Tiny bees like Hylaeus woyensis and Exoneurella lawsoni avoid the indusium (pollen presenter) of Scaevola ramosissima and collect nectar by entering from the side while somwhat larger bees like Megachile hackeri apparently collect pollen without entering the floral tube. The bee Lasioglossum (Ctenomia) sp. is intermediate in size and has frequently been observed visiting the flowers, always pushing under the indusium to reach nectar. It would be interesting to know whether the flower is as effective at selecting visitor by size as these observations suggest. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Pollen Theft: Roughly a third of Australian bee species carry pollen in their crops for provisioning nesting chambers and are likely to be relatively inefficient as pollinators. Although some are important pollinators, many can be thought of as pollen thieves. A few are pollen burglars, actively breaking into unopened flowers in order to remove pollen. The species shown are, in chronological order: Hylaeus alcyoneus; Hylaeus littleri; Euhesma banksia; Hylaeus perhumilis; Hylaeus (Heterapoides) all on banksia species; Hylaeus hypoleucus on Persoonia; and Hylaeus bicolorellus on Lambertia formosa. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Nectar concentrations: Bees of both sexes are often observed concentrating the nectar in their crops by regurgitating a droplet and allowing some of the water to evaporate. The most plausible reason for this behaviour is that nectar in the crop is the main form of stored energy for bees. As mammals, we may find this strange because we digest food (relatively slowly) and convert it to compounds that act as energy reserves. For the bees, the reserve is the nectar in the crop, which is released into the gut when energy is required. One consequence is that bees can increase the total amount of stored energy by removing some of the water then collecting more nectar. A second consequence is that a minimum concentration of sugar is required if the bee’s wing muscles are to produce their maximum output. Experiments with honeybees have shown that when nectar in the crop contains a solution with 30% or more sugar, the muscles can work at their maximum rate, but that when the sugar concentration is only 15%, the rate of absorption of sugars becomes limiting. The sugars in the nectar can be absorbed into the blood stream within 2 minutes, but if the nectar is too dilute, the flow of sugar cannot keep up with the demands of the muscles. Flowers that depend primarily on bees for pollination tend to have nectars with sugar concentrations of 35% or more, while those visited by birds and mammals usually produce nectars with concentrations in the range 10-20%. The little that is known about Australian flowers suggests that many eucalypts, bottlebrushes and banksias produce dilute nectar, though it may become more concentrated later in the day. For the bee, the choice is between seeking flowers with concentrated nectar and spending time evaporating what they collect from flowers that provide copious amounts of more dilute nectar. The scientific literature contains many other suggestions for this behaviour of bees: heat regulation; preconcentration of honey stores (which applies only to honeybees); or reduction of the weight carried by the bee. There may be some truth in all of them, but they would seem to be secondary benefits compared to a simple metabolic limit. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta: Neither of the nests shown was in an aggregation of nests. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis: Though not as common as the Blue-banded Bees, the Teddy-bear Bee is a frequent visitor in suburban gardens. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Nests of allodapine bees: Exoneura species may be recognised by the characteristic shape of the abdomen. They nest in hollow stems, but unlike many other species do not create separate cells for each larva. The young are fed progressively and various stages of development are found in the open tunnels. Social parasites (Exoneura (Inquilina) species) may be found in the nests and can be recognised by the short hairs on the hind leg. Commonly, one dominant female is responsible for reproduction at any particular time. The reproductive female in Exonuronella tridentata nests (but not in Exoneura nests) is significantly larger than her nestmates. [with thanks to Tish Silberbauer] Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Leioproctus (Cladocerapis) raymenti: Bees in the subgenus Leioproctus (Cladocerapis) have adaptations for foraging from Persoonia flowers. Both sexes have flat, polished faces which are of assistance when collecting nectar and females have spines on the forelegs that are used to rake pollen from the anthers. Male bees are shown in the first part of the clip, follwed by females. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Leioproctus (Filiglossa) spp.: Leioproctus (Filiglossa) species are specialist visitors to Persoonia flowers that have remarkable tongues. The set of long hairs attached to the tongue draw up nectar by capilliary action. Females have spines on the front legs that are used to rake pollen from the flower. Another species, Leioproctus davisi, has been found at one site nesting in an earthen bank and at another in a termite mound. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Banksia Bees, Hylaeus (Macrohylaeus) alcyoneus: Male Banksia Bees defend territories around flower spikes, usually of Banksia species, but they are occasionally found on Lambertia, Callistemon or Angophora. Females may be recognsed by the smaller areas of yellow on the face. The nests in hollow stems consist of a series of cells, each containing one larva. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) hemichalceum: Lasioglossum hemichalceum is a small ground-nesting bee. Several females share a common access tunnel to their individual nests and share the task of guarding the entrance against intruders, which include parasitic wasps of the genus Labium. In addition to normal males, flightless males with greatly enlarged heads are often found in the nests. The video was recorded beneath a children’s swing in a Sydney suburban park. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Leioproctus (Leioproctus) launcestonensis: Leioproctus launcestonensis is a small bee, typical of a large number of solitary bees that carry pollen between branched hairs on the hind legs or under the body. The pollen is not mixed with nectar and is therefore readily transferred to another flower and is viable if it is transferred. This makes solitary bees much more efficient pollinators than honeybees (see Trigona), which require a greater number of flower visits to achieve pollen transfer. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Leafcutter Bees: Megachile species can be divided into those that use pieces cut from leaves to line their nests and those that seal the nests with resin. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Resin bees: Resin Bees use old beetle tunnels and other holes for their nests. The species seen exploiting as particularly attractive source on resin on the trunk of an Angophora floridunda were Megachile oblonga, M. mundifica, M. rhodura and M. tosticauda. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Xylocopa (Lestis) aeratus: A favourite nesting site for Large Carpenter Bees is the dead flower stem of a grass tree, but the decaying trunk of a banksia can accommodate several separate nests. The last part of the clip shows a male inside a nest and another (covered with Grevillea pollen) trying to enter another nest. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Amegilla (Zonamegilla) pulchra: Amegilla species frequently visit tubular flowers, which they can access with their long tongues. Introduced flower species, including weeds like Verbena and Lantana, are just as popular as native flowers. The bees carrying pollen are females. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Amegilla (Asaropoda) rhodoscymna: Thanks to Marc and Jan Newman of Ballandean, Queensland, in whose garden these beautiful bees were filmed. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Xylocopa (Koptortosoma) sp.: These very large bees are found in the Northern half of Australia. Males defend territories by flying in random patterns near a chosen landmark, such as the end of a tree branch. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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Trigona carbonaria and Austroplebeia australis: These species live in large colonies with a highly developed social structure. Most members of the colony are workers, which can be seen returning to the hive with pollen from various sources and resin for nest contruction. Pollen is mixed with nectar so that it can be stuck to the hind leg for transport. This pollen is not suitable for fertilising flowers and only pollen grains accidentally carried elsewhere on the body can result in pollination. The same is true for the introduced European Honeybee. Copyright Michael Batley Top of Page |
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