Author Gary Taylor ◦
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, while I was out galavanting around the countryside (tho’ admittedly well worth it 🙂), unbeknownst to me, a little bee that I have been chasing for nearly 6 years, has been right there in my backyard munching on my platypus… 😄 Euryglossinae (Callohesma) flavopicta the “callo” part comes from the Greek “Kalos” meaning beautiful, “flavo” is yellow and “picta” refers to the markings (where we get the word picture from 🙂).
Anyway, the first time I ever saw her it was only a brief glimpse, enough for a couple of tantalizing pics, but at that stage she was the most beautifully “ornate” bee I’d ever seen… But one thing with spotting native bees is, as most bee stalkers will testify, once you’ve seen it, you know what you’re looking for, and I’ve been looking for her ever since… And yes, I have glimpsed her on occasions over the last 5 years, but every time she just gives me a wink and then either commando rolls out of her flower and disappears like a ninja into the shadows (she’s so cool… 😂), or she gives me a Norma Jean “Happy Birthday Mr President” kinda look as she slowly turns and slips away enticingly into the jungle of Eucalyptus stamens… teasing little tart… I’ve got so many bum pics that if the Bee Police raided my house and confiscated my computer, I’d bee arrested for being some kind of weirdo stalker… Oh, hang on… yeah, Guilty as charged Your Honour!!
So, after all these years of flirting and teasing, I finally got another go… Of course, windy, cloudy, late arvo and my last chance before back to three days at work… 🤣
Euryglossinae (Callohesma) flavopicta (on Eucalyptus platypus).
Geraldton-ish, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Ken Walker
And of course, as per usual, nothing unusual with Gary, this species has not been “officially” so far north. Congratulations. A new species range extension.
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- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Hexapoda
- Class: Insecta
- Informal: Pterygotes
- Order: Hymenoptera
- Superfamily: Apoidea
- Family: Apiformes
- Subfamily: Euryglossinae
- Genus: Callohesma
- Species: Callohesma flavopicta
Footnote & References
- Callohesma flavopicta (Smith, 1879), Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Callohesma flavopicta