Amegilla BeesApical tergites of females Amegilla Body Colour Amegilla adelaidae Amegilla aeruginosa Amegilla asserta Amegilla chlorocyanea Amegilla walkeri Teddy Bear Bees (Asaropoda)

Photographs by Marc Newman â—¦

The Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta, are part of the commonly named bees known as “Blue Banded Bees“.

The female of the species forage performing buzz pollination, although as pictured here, some also bypass the pollination process by accessing the nectar by piercing the corona of the flower.

Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta on a butterfly bush, Buddleja, Ballandean QLD
Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta on a butterfly bush, Buddleja, Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta on trigger plant
Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta on trigger plant, Glen Aplin QLD © Marc Newman
Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta on Purple Top Verbena, Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta on Purple Top Verbena, Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta female on Salvia, Ballandean QLD
Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta female on Salvia, Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman

For information on the differences between the male and female of the species check out the Australian government PaDIL website.3


  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Hymenoptera
  • Superfamily: Apoidea
  • Informal: Apiformes
  • Family: Apidae
  • Subfamily: Apinae
  • Tribe: Anthophorini
  • Genus: Amegilla
  • Subgenus: infrageneric Zonamegilla
  • Species: Amegilla asserta

Footnote & References

  1. Photographs Amegilla asserta © Marc Newman, Flickr, https://flickr.com/photos/koolbee/albums
  2. Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta (Cockerell, 1926), Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta
  3. Blue banded bee, Amegilla (Zonamegilla) asserta (Cockerell, T.D.A. 1926), PaDIL, https://www.padil.gov.au/pollinators/pest/main/138582

Amegilla BeesApical tergites of females Amegilla Body Colour Amegilla adelaidae Amegilla aeruginosa Amegilla asserta Amegilla chlorocyanea Amegilla walkeri Teddy Bear Bees (Asaropoda)

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