Blue-banded Bee

A recent visit to the stunning gardens at Vue/Jindivick, re-acquainted me with this favourite invert. The Blue-banded Bee is a native bee that belongs to the fairly-large Amegilla family. Some can be challenging to correctly identify – great photos page here on iNaturalist.

Amegilla is a ‘digger bee’: it nests in a burrow in some soft earth, clay, even mortar of a brick building. There’s plenty of online advice for building a home garden ‘bee hotel’.

Unlike the familiar and highly sociable Honeybee, Blue-banded Bees are pretty much solitary insects. The female digs her own nest, perhaps close to others of her species. The males sometimes roost together at night in small groups.

Blue-banded Bees are important buzz-pollinators. Many plants will only release their pollen when they are vibrated. Sometimes a wind will be enough. Buzz-pollinating bees have learned to grip the plant and vibrate it so they can collect the pollen.

Ain’t nature grand?