| Amegilla cingulata | |
|---|---|
 | |
| sleeping male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | Amegilla |
| Species: | A. cingulata |
| Binomial name | |
| Amegilla cingulata (Fabricius, 1775) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
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".
A. cingulata was first described by Danish entomologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. [1] Its specific epithet cingulata is from the Latin word cingulum ("belt") referring to the bee's bands. The genus Amegilla contains over 250 additional species, but several are virtually indistinguishable from A. cingulata, so they are commonly confused with it.
A. cingulata has a very striking appearance similar to several other species of Amegilla. Unlike honey bees, it has pale opalescent blue stripes on its abdomen. The male can be distinguished by the number of complete bands, having five as opposed to the females' four. [2] In size, A. cingulata can grow to 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in).
A. cingulata is found along the coast and inland in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, as well as South Australia[ citation needed ] and Western Australia; [3] reports of this species from places such as Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, and India (e.g., [4] ) are all erroneous. [2] [5] It appears to live in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. The bees inhabit urban areas, woodlands, forests, and heath areas.
A. cingulata can sting, but are not as aggressive as other bees. They appear to be more rapid in movement than other bees. The males cling to plant stems during the night. They are solitary creatures, with single females inhabiting burrows in the soft sandstone or clay, unlike social species such as honey bees, which live in large colonies.
A. cingulata in Australia collects the majority of its nectar from blue flowers, although others investigated include mountain devil ( Lambertia formosa ) and grey spider flower ( Grevillea buxifolia ), as well as the introduced Abelia grandiflora and lavender ( Lavandula species). [2] They also feed on some non-blue flowers such as the white form of Salvia coccinea , tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ), and eggplant ( Solanum melongena ) flowers, white flowers of Leea indica , and some members of the family Verbenaceae. Bees in the genus Amegilla use a process that involves clinging onto flowers and vibrating powerfully, which increases the release of pollen. [6]
A. cingulata build solitary nests, but often close to other conspecifics. A. cingulata tend to nest in burrows in dried-up river banks, old clay homes, and mortar between bricks, but may also burrow in soft sandstone, and areas of this type of rock can become riddled with bee tunnels. [7] Cells, at the end of tunnels, contain an egg with a pollen/nectar mixture for the larval food. [2]
A. cingulata are preyed upon by many animals, including birds, frogs and cane toads. Their nests are parasitized by the neon cuckoo bee Thyreus nitidulus . [2] Human activity, for example the clearing of river banks in the Caboolture River, may threaten nest sites of this bee.
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea. They are currently considered a clade, called Anthophila. There are over 20,000 known species of bees in seven recognized biological families. Some species – including honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees – live socially in colonies while most species (>90%) – including mason bees, carpenter bees, leafcutter bees, and sweat bees – are solitary.
A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains.
Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Characteristic traits of this family are the restriction of their pollen-carrying structure to the ventral surface of the abdomen, and their typically elongated labrum. Megachilid genera are most commonly known as mason bees and leafcutter bees, reflecting the materials from which they build their nest cells ; a few collect plant or animal hairs and fibers, and are called carder bees, while others use plant resins in nest construction and are correspondingly called resin bees. All species feed on nectar and pollen, but a few are kleptoparasites, feeding on pollen collected by other megachilid bees. Parasitic species do not possess scopae. The motion of Megachilidae in the reproductive structures of flowers is energetic and swimming-like; this agitation releases large amounts of pollen.
Buzz pollination or sonication is a technique used by some bees, such as solitary bees and bumblebees, to release pollen which is more or less firmly held by the anthers. The anthers of buzz-pollinated plant species are typically tubular, with an opening at only one end, and the pollen inside is smooth-grained and firmly attached. With self-fertile plants such as tomatoes, wind may be sufficient to shake loose the pollen through pores in the anther and accomplish pollination. Visits by bees may also shake loose some pollen, but more efficient pollination of those plants is accomplished by a few insect species who specialize in sonication or buzz pollination.
Mason bee is a name now commonly used for species of bees in the genus Osmia, of the family Megachilidae. Mason bees are named for their habit of using mud or other "masonry" products in constructing their nests, which are made in naturally occurring gaps such as between cracks in stones or other small dark cavities. When available, some species preferentially use hollow stems or holes in wood made by wood-boring insects.
The European beewolf, also known as the bee-killer wasp or the bee-eating philanthus, is a solitary wasp that lives in the Western Palearctic and Afrotropics. Although the adults of the species are herbivores, the species derives its name from the behaviour of the inseminated females, who hunt Western honey bees. The female places several of its paralysed prey together with an egg in a small underground chamber, to serve as food for the wasp larvae. All members of the genus Philanthus hunt various species of bees, but P. triangulum is apparently the only one that specialises in Western honey bees.
Habropoda laboriosa, the southeastern blueberry bee, is a bee in the family Apidae. It is native to the eastern United States. It is regarded as the most efficient pollinator of southern rabbiteye blueberries, because the flowers require buzz pollination, and H. laboriosa is one of the few bees that exhibit this behavior. It is active for only a few weeks of the year, while the blueberries are in flower during early spring, when the temperature is warm and humid. H. laboriosa are solitary bees that live alone but nest in close proximity with other nests of their species. They have similar features to bumble bees, but they are smaller in size compared to them. H. laboriosa are arthropods so they have segmented bodies that are composed of the head, thorax, and abdomen.
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, ranging from small solitary bees to the social stingless bees. Native bees are important for native ecosystems, providing pollination services to native plants, and hold value for Australian agriculture.
The genus Agapostemon is a common group of Western Hemisphere sweat bees.
Amegilla is a large genus of bees in the tribe Anthophorini. It has been split into many subgenera, including Asaropoda, Micramegilla,Notomegilla and Zonamegilla.
Thyreus nitidulus, commonly known as the neon cuckoo bee, is a parasitic bee of the genus Thyreus, called cuckoo bees. It is a stocky bee, notable for its brilliant metallic blue- and black-banded colors.
Amegilla bombiformis, commonly known as the teddy bear bee or golden haired mortar bee, is an Australian native bee in the family Apidae.
Xylocopa aerata, the golden-green carpenter bee or green carpenter bee, is one of two species of carpenter bee found only in the conservation areas around Sydney, and in the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales in Australia. Its only other habitat as of 2020 is on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The species is especially vulnerable to fire, and much of its habitat was burnt during the 2019-2020 bushfire season in Australia.
Amegilla dawsoni, sometimes called the Dawson's burrowing bee, is a species of bee that nests by the thousands in arid claypans in Western Australia. It is a long tongued bee, of the tribe Anthophorini and genus Amegilla, the second largest genus in Anthophorini.
Xylocopa bombylans, the peacock carpenter bee, is a species of carpenter bee found in Australia. It gets its common name by its habit of burrowing into wood.
The alkali bee, Nomia melanderi, is a ground-nesting bee native to deserts and semi-arid desert basins of the western United States. It was described by Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell in 1906. While solitary, these bees nest near each other and can form extremely dense aggregations in areas with favorable conditions.
Amegilla asserta is a species of bee endemic to Australia, belonging to the family Apidae subfamily Apinae. Females forage by performing buzz pollination.
Andrena prunorum, otherwise known as the purple miner bee, is a species of solitary bees in the family Andrenidae. It is commonly found in the continental United States as well as much of North and Central America. Andrena prunorum is a spring-flying, ground-nesting bee that serves as a ubiquitous generalist in ecological settings. Both males and females live as prepupae in the winter in which they mate, and the females seek new sites for ground burrows. From there, they construct small cells surrounding a ball of pollen combined with nectar to nourish a laid egg before each cell is sealed, and the cycle begins anew. A. prunorum generally prefer the pollen derived from Rosaceae plants but will pollinate fruit trees if given the opportunity.
Zonamegilla is a large subgenus of the bee genus Amegilla. Species of this subgenus can be found throughout Australia, Europe and Asia. Some Zonamegilla are commonly referred to as blue-banded bees; however, the abdominal bands can also be orange, green, white or yellow, depending on the species.
Notomegilla is a subgenus of the bee genus Amegilla. It comprises two species – Amegilla chlorocyanea from southern and arid Australia, and Amegilla aeruginosa from northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. Both species share the characteristic feature of blue-green iridescent hairs on the legs.