Teddy Bear Bees (Asaropoda)Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis Amegilla (Asaropoda) dawsoni Amegilla (Asaropoda) rhodoscymna Amegilla (Asaropoda) scymna

Photographs by Marc Newman

The Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis, commonly known as Teddy Bear Bee or Golden Haired Mortar Bee have a golden brown colouring and are 15-20 mm in length. They have dark hairless bands on their abdomen, whilst their elsewhere including their legs are covered in golden brown hairs. They have dark brown wings.

Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis (Teddy Bear Bee) © Marc Newman
Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis (Teddy Bear Bee) © Marc Newman

A solitary bee, they will live within close range to other Teddy Bear Bees. They live in small burrows in soil or eroded banks. They are found across eastern Australia mainland.

Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis (Teddy Bear Bee) © Marc Newman
Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis (Teddy Bear Bee) © Marc Newman

Known buzz pollinators, the Amegilla bombiformis play an important role in the pollination of flowering plants, particularly species that require buzz pollination. Like the Blue-banded Bees, the Teddy Bear Bees fly with the dart-and-hover flight pattern. Teddy Bear Bee flies with lower pitch humming sound

The ‘teddy bear bees’ — Amegilla (Asaropoda) and the ‘blue banded bees’ — Amegilla (Zonamegilla), are probably the best-known of the Australian native bees.

Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis (Teddy Bear Bee) on Buddleja © Marc Newman
Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis (Teddy Bear Bee) on Buddleja © Marc Newman

  • 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 Asaropoda
  • Species: Amegilla bombiformis

Footnote & References

  1. Photographs Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis © Marc Newman, Flickr
  2. Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis (Smith, 1854), Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis
  3. Leijs, Remko et al. “The genus Amegilla (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Anthophorini) in Australia: a revision of the subgenus Asaropoda.” ZooKeys vol. 908 45-122. 3 Feb. 2020, doi:10.3897/zookeys.908.47375, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7010838/

Teddy Bear Bees (Asaropoda)Amegilla (Asaropoda) bombiformis Amegilla (Asaropoda) dawsoni Amegilla (Asaropoda) rhodoscymna Amegilla (Asaropoda) scymna

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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