| | Bees
- Superfamily APOIDEA
This page contains pictures and information about Bees that we found in the
Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- The long-tongued Blue-banded Bee
Bees belong to the insect Order Hymenoptera, which includes
parasitic wasps, stinging
wasps, ants and sawflies.
Most bees live as individual, although the famous Honey Bees are social insects. The solitary bees live in burrow under ground or in tree stems.
In their nests, there are chambers for their larvae, beside there are the
storage for the nectar and pollen. Some species bees live together and using the
same entry, although each have their own nest and look after their own young.
Some
bee species are social insects, only the queen lay eggs. There are the sterile
workers in a large colony.
Both wasps and bees visit flowers and sometimes may be hard to distinguishing
them. Most wasps larvae are either carnivorous or parasitic while bees are
vegetarian. Bees larvae feed on pollen. Bees carry pollen by the hairs on their
legs and body. In general bees with hairy body and legs but wasps with no or
very little hairs on their body and legs.
Unlike other members in Hymenoptera, bees' mouthparts are modified to a
hairy tongue, which is used for sucking up nectar from flowers. When rest bees
fold their tongue in mouth in Z-shape. Besides the tongue, bees mouthpart have
two strong mandibles, functioning as hands more than teethes. Besides used for eating pollen,
it is for building hive, dragging,
fighting and feeding the larvae.
- In Australia we have five major bee families. There are Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae,
Anthophoridae and Apidae. Some reference books group Anthophoridae into Apidae
as one family.
-
- FAMILY
COLLETIDAE - Colletid Bees - Colletid Bees are short tongue bees. They
burrow in ground, especially in clayey soil. Some of them are hairy.
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- FAMILY HALICTIDAE - Nomia Bees
- Bees in this family are usually black with metallic colours. They are
solitary (each female bee build nest, lays and cares her own eggs) or
communal (share nest with other female but care her own eggs). Females nest in
ground or rotting wood, males do not nest but cluster together at night.
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- FAMILY MEGACHILIDAE -
Leafcutter Bees and Resin Bees
- Leafcutter bees are common in Brisbane gardens. They are visitors of different flowering plants.
Sometimes we find circular holes in soft-leaved plants, these are made by the female
bee which uses the leaf to build her nest. She provides each egg with pollen and nectar.
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- Family ANTHOPHORIDAE
- Bees
- This family contains some largest bees in Australia. They make nests in
dead tree branches or underground. They are solitary bees. Some members in
this family, like the Carpenter Bees and Blue-banded Bees, are known as buzz
pollinators. They use special technique to get pollen from flowers.
- Family APIDAE
- Bees
- The Apidae family includes the famous Honey Bees and the
Australian Native Stingless Bees, they are the
highly social insects. There are also the solitary
and communal species in this family. Most of them have modified mouthparts
likes a tongue which can sip nectar easily. Another characteristic are their
hairy legs and pollen baskets that they used for collecting pollen and nectar
for their young.
- Reference:
- 1. Insects
of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University
Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 993.
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus
& Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p301.
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