Author Gary Taylor ◦
So here she is… Euryglossa calaina in all her splendid glory (well, a small selection)… The fix I was after.
So many times I’ve spotted something new and only managed a blurry photo and it’s years before I see one again, some I’ve still never seen again. So to head out bush on a whim and a prayer and spot what you are after so quick is for me what I think it must be like for a junkie getting his hit… And this stuff is pure, she’s one of the most placid, unfazed by the camera or me bees I’ve ever photographed… I reckon I’ll be right for a couple weeks…
At one point there were three of them on the one Hakea (and the Hakeas are thick here, they line the firebreak we walk on), pick a bee… I went prepared to wait and watch for several hours and maybe not see much. According to the number of pics I took, I was hitting 240 clicks an hour… 😆 By the time I left it was “yeah nah just another Euryglossa calaina, I don’t need any more pics…”
However, having said that… I asked Ken Walker (whom gave the original ID) what the male looked like, he said no one knew, it hadn’t yet been identified… I reckon I’ve seen it, maybe even have a pic of it, just gotta prove it and the only way I can do that is with a lot more watching, basically gotta catch ’em in the act… so the fix is good for now but I want more… 😅
Images © Gary Taylor