Megachile sp. (several subgenera) (Resin Bees) at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

Resin Bees at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

Megachile sp. (several subgenera) at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve - 7 Mar 2019

5 images

Identification history

Megachile sp. (several subgenera)	12 Mar 2019	MichaelMulvaney
Megachile sp. (several subgenera)	5 Mar 2019	DPRees125

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8 comments

michael.batley wrote:

5 Mar 2019

I can't see his forelegs and I am not 100% sure about the size, but he looks a bit like M. maculariformis to me.

DPRees125 wrote:

5 Mar 2019

OK, I'll see what extra I have and I'll see if I can post an additional picture

DPRees125 wrote:

5 Mar 2019

OK, I'll see what extra I have and I'll see if I can post an additional picture

DPRees125 wrote:

5 Mar 2019

have loaded a couple more images with a front on perspective

michael.batley wrote:

6 Mar 2019

Definitely not M. maculariformis, and from the size of the Verbena flowers, a smaller species. My first guess would be M. serricauda, which has some distinctive features, but they are probably too small to be seen in photos unless the original of image 3 has enough resolution to permit enlargement of the front foot.

DPRees125 wrote:

6 Mar 2019

Micheal, thanks for your efforts. I've cut some more images from the feed and put them on here at max resolution, hope it helps.

michael.batley wrote:

6 Mar 2019

Things are getting more complicated. I think the bee in the new image 5 is a different species. The orange on the end of the abdomen extends onto segment 4, but the earlier pictures have a thick white band on that segment. And the projections at the end of the abdomen are a different shape. There really are so many possibilities that we have to leave it as Megachile sp. I do think pictures 1 to 4 are a leaf-cutter, but even then I can't prove it.

DPRees125 wrote:

6 Mar 2019

thanks we will have to have another go with them bees

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