Neon Cloak-and-dagger Bee (Thyreus nitidulus)

Sapphire Coast BeesMegachile ustulata Neon Cloak-and-dagger Bee (Thyreus nitidulus)

The beautiful Neon Cloak-and-dagger Bee (Thyreus nitidulus), also commonly known as the Neon Cuckoo Bee, a parasitic bee belonging to a group of bee known as Cuckoo Bees, in the genus Thyreus. This stocky looking bee is recognised from the metallic blue and black banded colours.

Originally described by Danish entomologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1804 as Melecta nitidula – from a collection in the Aru Islands or northern Australia – it was given its current scientific name Thyreus nitidulus in 1959 by M. A. Lieftinck. The specific epithet is derived from the diminutive of the Latin adjective nitidus “shining” (i.e. “little shiny one”).

Source: Atlas of Living Australia / Wikipedia

There are several subspecies that have been recognised, although the nominate race Thyreus nitidulus ssp. nitidulus is found across eastern Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia) and the Northern Territory, as well as New Guinea. There are other species of the genus Thyreus found in Southeast Asia.

The Neon Cuckoo Bee is covered by furry, branched, flattened hair, that is black and blue in colours. Pale blue hair covers much of the face on the head, as well as patches on the sides of the thorax and the legs. The abdomen is striped with bright blue and black, and the transparent wings are purple-tinged brown in colour. The bee is sturdy in build, with a reinforced thorax.

As parasitic bees, the female Neon Cuckoo Bee lays an egg into the burrow nests of the Blue-banded Bee (Amegilla cingulata). The larval cuckoo bee then consumes the larder, before emerging from the nest cell as a young adult.

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• Scientific classification
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Subphylum: Hexapoda
• Class: Insecta
• Informal: Pterygotes
• Order: Hymenoptera
• Superfamily: Apoidea
• Informal: Apiformes
• Family: Apidae
• Subfamily: Apinae
• Tribe: Melectini
• Genus: Thyreus
• Species: Thyreus nitidulus (Fabricius, 1804)
• Subspecies:
  • Thyreus nitidulus ssp. aspasius
  • Thyreus nitidulus ssp. caelestinus
  • Thyreus nitidulus ssp. gemmatus
  • Thyreus nitidulus ssp. nitidulus
  • Thyreus nitidulus ssp. quartinae
  • Thyreus nitidulus ssp. verticalis

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Sapphire Coast BeesMegachile ustulata Neon Cloak-and-dagger Bee (Thyreus nitidulus)

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