Exoneura sp. (genus)

13 A reed bee at Sutton, NSW

Exoneura sp. (genus) at Sutton, NSW - 21 Oct 2023
Exoneura sp. (genus) at Sutton, NSW - 21 Oct 2023
Exoneura sp. (genus) at Sutton, NSW - 21 Oct 2023
Exoneura sp. (genus) at Sutton, NSW - 21 Oct 2023
Exoneura sp. (genus) at Sutton, NSW - 21 Oct 2023
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Identification history

Exoneura sp. (genus) 22 Oct 2023 michael.batley
Lasioglossum sp. (genus) 22 Oct 2023 AJB

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User's notes

Cute yellow strip on the face but I really don't know what species this is. Pollinia collected however, super excited to see that!

5 comments

   22 Oct 2023
For sucessful pollination the whole pollinarium needs to be removed. In addition, it is usually difficult to reach the pollen without removing the whole structure. This does not seem to have happened in these pictures. It is possible that it had already been removed by a previous visitor.
AJB wrote:
   22 Oct 2023
Thanks Michael. I had just assumed that the white fluffy stuff was the broken up bits of pollinia and that is how Thelys often self pollinate when it falls down onto itself. Weird plants! Awesome bee! Regards Ang.
RogerF wrote:
   23 Oct 2023
The pollen on the baskets of the bee legs may have come from Wahlenbergia that have white rather than yellow pollen. These often co-occur with Thelys. The latter don't offer a reward and the bees foraging among the Wahlenbergia are deceived into visiting the Thely flowers by their blue colour and yellow anther lobes. Anyway that's my theory!
AJB wrote:
   23 Oct 2023
Thanks Roger. This bee really sat for me so I had a lot of photos. Agree about the Wahlenbergia. I just added another photo of the bees rear end - this looks like a degrading pollinia to me anyway. Many Thelys have white and not yellow pollinia. The bee was certainly digging and scratching for something good I didn't see it adding white stuff to its legs.
   23 Oct 2023
They do look like pollinia in the new picture.

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Location information

Sighting information

Additional information

  • Thelymitra Associated plant
  • 5mm to 12mm Animal size
  • Alive / healthy Animal health
  • Collecting pollen Insect behaviour on flower
  • True Pollinator Insect on Flower

Species information

  • Exoneura sp. (genus) Scientific name
  • A reed bee Common name
  • Not Sensitive
  • Local native
  • Non-invasive or negligible
  • Up to 1727.5m Recorded at altitude
  • 347 images trained Machine learning
  • External link More information

Record quality

  • 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
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