Author Gary Taylor ◦
Still on my mystery Hylaeine… One suggestion was it looked like Hylaeus (Hylaeteron) douglasi. So for comparison, on the left, 1st pic is the female douglasi, the one below (2nd pic) is the male. The 3rd pic is my unknown one, female, followed by the male (4th pioc), and the last pic is how I know they’re a matching pair*. You can see the face markings are kinda similar, but definitely not the same, and douglasi, like most (if not all) Hylaeterons has red legs whereas mine has black and yellow legs, the male’s being more yellow than black… Does this help? Probably not… 😂
Still on my mystery Hylaeine… One suggestion was it looked like Hylaeus (Hylaeteron) douglasi. So for comparison, in the 1st pic is the female douglasi, the following 2nd pic is the male. The 3rd pic is my unknown one, female at the top, male in the 4th pic, and the last pic is how I know they’re a matching pair*. You can see the face markings are kinda similar, but definitely not the same, and douglasi, like most (if not all) Hylaeterons has red legs whereas mine has black and yellow legs, the male’s being more yellow than black… Does this help? Probably not… 😂
* When it comes to mating, native bee males are often less than gentlemen, in fact they can be outrightly brutal. Male Firetail resin bees will eclose (emerge) and wait by the nest for their sisters to emerge and basically gang rape them as they come out. For many others it’s just wham bam thank you maam and done, but this little guy is an exception. He doesn’t force himself upon her, he shows his worth by driving other males away, patiently waiting for an invitation to join her and softly whisper pretty love words in her ear. Now some may be thinking “bees don’t feel love or show affection”… Really? Check out the way they’re caressing each others face with their antennae and the way she has her leg wrapped up over his back holding him… 🙂
Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
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