Busy little bee
17 December 2018
This week’s reader photo of a blue-banded bee was captured by Dominic Deligny.
The blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulata) is a native Australian bee that grows to about 11mm, and has distinctive metallic blue fur across their black abdomens. They have a unique pollination process called ‘buzz pollination’, or sonication, where they shiver their flight muscles, causing the pollen to shoot out of hidden capsules in some flowers. They can then collect the pollen for their nest and carry it from flower to flower.
