Hylaeus (Euprosopis) elegans
2 Harlequin Bee at Murrumbateman, NSW
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| Hylaeus (Euprosopis) elegans | michael.batley | 30 Dec 2021 | |
| Hylaeus (Euprosopis) elegans | SimoneC | 30 Dec 2021 |
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4 comments
31 Dec 2021
A nice finding Simone, on a Callistemon/Melaleuca. Do you have the species/cultivar name?
1 Jan 2022
Thanks Simone. I am uncertain whether the protruding anthers are primarily an adaptation to pollination by birds rather than insects or perhaps the the bottle brushes are just opportunistic and rely on any visitor large or small. Our spinebills hang on the pendulous blooms of C. citrinus cv in our garden at the moment. But the more compact blooms of other species seem to rely more on insects than birds. I find it ironic that most of the published studies of pollination come from India and elsewhere where Callistemons are widely planted.
4 Jan 2022
Yes, certainly these callistemons are swarming with about 20 species of bees, flies, beetles, butterflies etc but no birds. The wattle birds and smaller honeyeaters including spinebills seem more interested in grevilleas and other flowers at the moment. But they do mix it with the insects earlier in the season in large patch of C. “Pink Champagne” which has big flowers. The red flowered ones also seem to get more birds and a much smaller selection of insects
Location information
- Coordinates 149.051256-34.977756
- Altitude 590.0m
- Places Murrumbateman, NSW
Sighting information
- At least 1 Abundance
- 30 Dec 2021 11:51 AM Recorded on
- SimoneC Recorded by
Collections
- SimoneC Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Hylaeus (Euprosopis) elegans Bees (Hymenoptera, Apiformes) Insects
Species information
- Hylaeus (Euprosopis) elegans Scientific name
- Harlequin Bee Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 813.8m Recorded at altitude
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
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- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
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