Author Gary Taylor ◦
For those new to native bees, you may have noticed a slight disapproval, perhaps even a tinge of animosity towards feral European honeybees, and wondered what the problem is… Well, basically they’re an introduced species that out compete our gorgeous little natives. Not only very often in size as well as numbers but the amount of resources they take… The vast majority of Aussie bees are solitary, only live for about a month and collect enough pollen and nectar to raise a small family. Euro’s collect to build a city… But these pics show it going to a new level.
So, first pic, that black bum with the orange spot that has a Euro bee right up behind it belongs to Megachile canifrons. She knows the Euro has been following her… she doesn’t like it but she’s not remotely intimidated, apart from having jaws like something from a sci-fi movie, she knows she can do what the Euro’s can’t and they know it too, so for now she’s king of the castle… Dead set, I watched it over and over (haven’t got a pic yet but I reckon I can get one 😃), they’ve learnt that canifrons, with her huge jaws, can pop the caps off the flowers about to emerge like champagne corks to get to the fresh pollen and nectar within. And the Euro’s will tuck in behind, queueing up, then when canifrons moves on (2nd pic) they mob the flower and drain it dry…
3rd and 4th pics, canifrons side on… Cani frons, have to suspect it’s from the Latin canis and means dog faced… Dunno, but if it does it could either be a reference to it’s huge jaws, perhaps, or another distinguishing feature for canifrons, the strange protrusion on it’s clypeus (face). Visible in the 3rd pic even though it’s taken from slightly below… That little black dog nose like lump below the antennae… yeah, nah dunno, I’ve got lots of pics of it, dog nose? Stretching it a bit there, if it is it’s one that’s been chasing parked cars 😆 But What she’s doing, I don’t know, gonna need better pics… She’s not bubbling, there’s moisture between the jaws (hard to see in the pics but I could see the light refraction) and with the way she was working her jaws and mouth parts I think it’s more for lubrication, ‘cos in the 4th pic, well I’m stuffed if I know but there seems to be more mouth parts than usual… 😂 either that or she’s about to spit out a pellet like a kingfisher…
Photographs © Gary Taylor
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