Alice Springs Fauna •
Alice Springs BeesAmegilla Bee Braunsapis sp Bright-white Masked Bee Bush Bee Ceylalictus perditellus European Honey Bee Exoneurella eremophila Golden-browed Resin Bee Lasioglossum (Homalictus) Lasioglossum (Parasphecodes) Lipotriches Megachile deanii Red-headed Masked Bee Stenotritidae genus Stenotritus Xanthesma (Xenohesma)
Pictured is the Euryglossinae Xanthesma (Xenohesma) – deceased (from a swimming pool in Alice Springs).
A new study by Curtin and Flinders Universities has found that what were thought to be two different species of native Australian bee are in fact one.
Lead researcher Dr Kit Prendergast from the Curtin School of Molecular and Life Sciences said the study, based on native bee surveys at Perth locations of Wireless Hill, Shenton Park and Russo Reserve, fundamentally alters previous thinking.
Source: Lucien Wilkinson, Curtin University3
This page is a work in progress. More information coming.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Hexapoda
- Class: Insecta
- Informal: Pterygotes
- Order: Hymenoptera
- Superfamily: Euryglossinae
- Genus: Xanthesma
- Subgenus: Xanthesma (Xenohesma) Michener, 1965
Footnote & References
- Many thanks to Josh Whitehead, Ken Walker and Gary Taylor for ID, member of Bee Aware of Your Native Bees (Australia), Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/beeawareofyournativebees
- Prendergast KS & Dorey JB (2023). Xanthesma (Xenohesma) perpulchra and Xanthesma (Xanthesma) brachycera are conspecific based on DNA barcodes. Australian Journal of Taxonomy 39: 1–10. doi: https://doi.org/10.54102/ajt.df83w
- Two bee species become one as researchers solve identity puzzle, 30 OCT 2023, Lucien Wilkinson, Curtin University, https://www.curtin.edu.au/news/media-release/two-bee-species-become-one-as-researchers-solve-identity-puzzle/
- Two bee species become one as researchers solve identity puzzle, 30 October 2023, by Curtin University, Phys.org, Science X Network, https://phys.org/news/2023-10-bee-species-identity-puzzle.html
Alice Springs BeesAmegilla Bee Braunsapis sp Bright-white Masked Bee Bush Bee Ceylalictus perditellus European Honey Bee Exoneurella eremophila Golden-browed Resin Bee Lasioglossum (Homalictus) Lasioglossum (Parasphecodes) Lipotriches Megachile deanii Red-headed Masked Bee Stenotritidae genus Stenotritus Xanthesma (Xenohesma)
Alice Springs FaunaAlice Springs Native Bees Alice Springs Beetles Alice Springs Birds Alice Springs Gastropods (Gastropoda) Alice Springs Insects Alice Springs Marsupials Alice Springs Reptiles Alice Springs Spiders
Alice Springs FloraAlice Springs Flora Index Acacia ligulata Annual Yellowtop Apple Bush Bougainvillea Burdekin Plum Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqa) Cattle Bush Desert Cotton (Aerva javanica) Desert Oak Eremophila Wildberry Feijoa sellowiana Flannel Cudweed Fork-leaf Corkwood Ghost Gum Golden Everlasting Kurrajong Lemon-flowered Gum MacDonnell’s Desert Fuchsia Native Bluebell Native Tomato Needlewood Olive Tree Perennial Yellow Top Rat’s Tail River Red Gum Inland River Red Gum Rosy Dock Round-leaved Mallee Scurvy Grass Silky Eremophila Stemodia viscosa Striped Mintbush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Weeping Bottlebrush White Cedar Yellow Billybutton Yellow-keeled Swainsona Yellow Oleander