Blue-banded Bee
S21, Female, dorsal
Ellura
Blue-banded Bee
S23, Male, dorsal, Abdomen
 
                      
Blue-banded Bee (Amegilla (Notomegilla) chlorocyanea)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera)
Family: Long-tongued Bee (Bee: Apidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Blue-banded Bee (Amegilla (Notomegilla) chlorocyanea)
This Photo:     🔍S23, Male, dorsal🔎
Other name: Blue Banded Bee

Thank you Dr Ken Walker & Asaph (asaph01) for identifying, Dr John Ascher for confirming and Dr Remko Leijs for helping with the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), the Adelaide Hills, the Flinders Ranges and elsewhere
~11 to ~13mm long Females (x16), while the 7 Males we found were smaller, ~8 to ~10mm long.
The females we found have black scapes (basal antennae segment), while males have an ivory stripe on theirs.
Dr Ken Walker said "The colour of the bands fades with age and the amount of orange varies in a species like A. chlorocyanea."
Dr Remko Leijs said "The females have a white dot of hairs on middle tergite 6, while males have the last hairbands intersected."

Copyright © 2022-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 16-Feb-2022
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.