Goniocolletes fimbriatinus

1 Red Hill, ACT

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Identification history

	Goniocolletes fimbriatinus	4 Mar 2022	michael.batley
	Leioproctus (Leioproctus) platycephalus	3 Mar 2022	Roger

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4 comments

michael.batley wrote:

4 Mar 2022

Roger, I don't know how you manage to find so many interesting bees! I can't be 100% sure that this is not one of the other Goniocolletes (G. fimbriatus or G. parvus) that have a red abdomen. All three species are typically found foraging from Eucalyptus. Goniocolletes are mostly larger than typical Leioproctus species and female G. fimbriatinus are roughly 11 mm long.

Roger wrote:

4 Mar 2022

Hi Michael, She would have been 11mm. This is one I haven't come across before, she came in to feed on a small flowering eucalyt branch, just a few flowers, most have gone due to the rain. Can I ask, what makes it different.

michael.batley wrote:

4 Mar 2022

It is quite difficult to separate Goniocolletes from Leioproctus and there are still species that will need to be moved from one to the other. In this case, it was the relatively dense hair on the thorax, the amount of hair on the head (for a female) and something indefinable about the shape of the head that suggested it to me. Of course, the size confirms my feelings.
Under a microscope, impressed fovea on the face and the shape of the mid body section would be the defining characters.

Roger wrote:

4 Mar 2022

Thank you for that Michael.

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