Author Gary Taylor â—¦

Rare footage of native bees attacking a flower wasp! 😃 Nah, only joking, it’s just a mid day siesta… Thyreus waroonensis (Waroona Cuckoo bee), flower wasp and Lipotriches (Austranomia) australica all having a snooze together, tucked in the folds of the Platypus buds that may work a bit like an evaporative airconditioner… (a stretch I know, but why else would they all be there?).

Thyreus waroonensis (Waroona Cuckoo bee), flower wasp and Lipotriches (Austranomia) australica, snoozing in the Platypus buds, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor

Midwest WA, it was already 38 degrees by 10:30, by 12:00 it was 41.5°C and still rising, this seemed to be the shut off point… All foraging stopped, wasps and bees of all kinds called a truce and just did their best to keep out of the heat…

Thyreus waroonensis (Waroona Cuckoo bee), flower wasp and Lipotriches (Austranomia) australica, snoozing in the Platypus buds, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Thyreus waroonensis (Waroona Cuckoo bee), flower wasp and Lipotriches (Austranomia) australica, snoozing in the Platypus buds, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor

Photographs – Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor

Blogs | The Coastal Moort | Everyone loves a platypus… | In the folds of the Platypus buds | As the platypus season comes to an end…


Footnote & References

  1. Eucalyptus platypus, also known as the Coastal Moort, by Gary Taylor, 8 January 2022, Bee Aware of Your Native Bees (Australia), Facebook
  2. Coastal Moort | Eucalyptus – Ausemade

Check out more blogs and contribution by Gary Taylor.