Xylocopa (Lestis) aerata
2 Metallic Green Carpenter Bee, Golden-Green Carpenter Bee at Acton, ACT
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User's notes
Three female Carpenter bees were sighted on this bush. A male turned up and two of the females left. The male flew around the remaining female who then stopped collecting pollen and took up the posture seen in the images. Mating took place in the sequence shown in the images with the male initially flying close to the left side of the female as seen in the second image. Mating occurred just after the fourth image was taken. The male then backed away as seen in the last image and left, with the female going back to pollen collection. Thanks to Marcus Leach for originally locating the Carpenter bees on this plant.
2 comments
16 Oct 2019
A lovely sequence. If more than one male is present, the female may lead them in a vertical zig-zag dance which may be part of a mate selection behaviour.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.109385-35.276807
- Altitude 602.6m
- Maps ANBG
- Places Acton, ACT
Sighting information
- 4 Abundance
- 14 Oct 2019 12:10 PM Recorded on
- TimL Recorded by
- 25mm to 50mm Animal size
- Unknown Gender
- Breeding behaviour Breeding behaviour
Collections
- ACT Most Wanted! TimL Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Xylocopa (Lestis) aerata Bees (Hymenoptera, Apiformes) Insects
Species information
- Xylocopa (Lestis) aerata Scientific name
- Metallic Green Carpenter Bee, Golden-Green Carpenter Bee Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Rare or uncommon native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 781.8m Recorded at altitude
Record quality
Quality score
7 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes