Austrothurgus Austrothurgus rubricatus

Photographs © Gary Taylor

Belonging to the family Megachilidae are a group of bees commonly described as lithurgine bees (subfamily Lithurginae, tribe: Lithurgini).

Austrothurgus is distinguished from other Lithurginae by the presence of arolia in males (absent in females), first flagellomere long in both sexes, female facial prominence mostly involving the base of clypeus, and male metabasitarsus with distinct, elevated carina on its inner surface.2

family Megachilidae, genus Austrothurgus, Geraldton WA © Gary Taylor
Austrothurgus, Geraldton WA © Gary Taylor
family Megachilidae, genus Austrothurgus, Geraldton WA © Gary Taylor
Austrothurgus, Geraldton WA © Gary Taylor
family Megachilidae, genus Austrothurgus, Geraldton WA © Gary Taylor
Austrothurgus, Geraldton WA © Gary Taylor
family Megachilidae, genus Austrothurgus, Geraldton WA © Gary Taylor
Austrothurgus, Geraldton WA © Gary Taylor

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Hymenoptera
  • Superfamily: Apoidea
  • Informal: Apiformes
  • Family: Megachilidae
  • Subfamily: Lithurginae
  • Tribe: Lithurgini
  • Genus: Austrothurgus
  • Species:
    • Austrothurgus cognatus (Smith, 1868)
    • Austrothurgus malgaru Gonzalez, Engel & Griswold, 2013
    • Austrothurgus rubricatus (Smith, 1853)

Footnote & References

  1. Photographs Austrothurgus, Geraldton, WA © Gary Taylor
  2. Morning Glory (Blog), by Gary Taylor, https://ausemade.com.au/blog/morning-glory/
  3. The lithurgine bees of Australia (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), with a note on Megachile rotundipennis, No 11 (2013), by Victor H Gonzalex, Michael S. Engel, Terry L Griswold, Journal of Melittology, https://journals.ku.edu/melittology/article/view/4520
  4. Austrothurgus Gonzalez, Engel & Griswold, 2013, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Austrothurgus
  5. Genus Austrothurgus, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/628569-Austrothurgus

Austrothurgus Austrothurgus rubricatus

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