Alice Springs Bees

Alice Springs Fauna •

Alice Springs Bees > Alice Springs Bees Index

Alice Springs and Central Australia is home to a number of native bees, that vary in size and appearance, to the popularly recognised large Amegilla bees, tiny bush bees (Austroplebeia), the colourful Xanthesma, the distinctive red eyes of the Megachile aurifrons and the red-headed Hylaeus ruficeps, just to name a few of the native bees.

Alice Springs Native Bees

As well as varying in size and colour, many of the Alice Springs native bees have a preferance to specific genus/species of plants. For more information on the native bees, check out our Alice Springs Bees Index.

Alice Springs BeesAlice Springs Bees Index Amegilla Bee Braunsapis sp Bright-white Masked Bee Bush Bee Ceylalictus perditellus European Honey Bee Euryglossinae Exoneurella eremophila Furrow Bee Golden-browed Resin Bee Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) eremaean Lasioglossum (Homalictus) Lasioglossum (Homalictus) on Eucalyptus orbifolia Lasioglossum (Homalictus) dotatum Lasioglossum (Homalictus) urbanum Lasioglossum (Parasphecodes) Lipotriches Lipotriches gracilipes Megachile deanii Red-headed Masked Bee Stenotritidae genus Stenotritus Xanthesma (Xenohesma)

The following scientific grouping/listing of the bees listed above:

Genus Amegilla (Notomegilla)
Genus Braunsapis
Genus Hylaeus (Gnathoprosopis)
Genus Austroplebeia, species Austroplebeia australis
Genus Exoneurella, species Exoneurella eremophila
Genus Ceylalictus, species Ceylalictus perditellus
Genus Hylaeus (Euprosopoides), species Hylaeus ruficeps
Genus Lasioglossum (Chilalictus), species Lasioglossum eremaean
Genus Lasioglossum (Homalictus), species Homalictus urbanus
Genus Lasioglossum (Homalictus)
Genus Lasioglossum (Parasphecodes)
Genus Lipotriches
Genus Megachile, species Megachile aurifrons
Genus Megachile (Rhodomegachile), species Megachile deanii
Family Stenotritidae, genus Stenotritus
Genus Xanthesma, subgenus Xanthesma (Xenohesma)
Genus Apis, species Apis mellifera

Alice Springs European Honey Bee

As well as native bees, the European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) is a common sight in Alice Springs, used in the locally produced honey,

The European Honey Bee (also known as the Western Honey Bee) ranges in size from 13-16 mm and are usually recognised by the yellow and black abdominal banding and fine visible hairs all over the body. Their antennae are slightly longer than their head and they have light brown to transparent wings with dark veins. There may be some slight variation in colour, depending on the age of the bee (worker bees can lose their hairs over time) and also feral honey bees can be slightly darker in colour — you can read our page Dark Apis mellifera.

Most of us would be able to identify the European Honey Bee, but if you are not sure, following are some images of the European Honey Bee.

If you have seen and photographed any species of native bees here in Alice Springs and Central Australia, we would welcome your photos and where they were taken to expand our content for the benefit of all. Your name will appear as the copyright holder of the image.

You can contact us through this website and Facebook Ausemade.

If you want to see more bees, check out our main section on Bees:

Be e s | Bees – Image Index

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
(unranked): Unicalcarida
Suborder: Apocrita
Superfamily: Apoidea
Clade: Anthophila
Families:
- Andrenidae
- Apidae
- Colletidae
- Halictidae
- Megachilidae
- Melittidae
- Stenotritidae
Synonyms: Apiformes (from Latin ‘apis’)