Bees AnatomyBees Antenna It’s in the eyes Pre-pygidial fimbria Wings of the bee

Photographs and Author Gary Taylor â—¦

A feature that is typical of some ground nesting bees such as Leioproctus and Stenotritida species is the dense long hairs called “pre-pygidial fimbriae” on the last section of the metasoma.

Arrghh… science jargon, losing interest… Righto, hang on, let’s back it up a bit… So we all know in insects it’s “head, thorax, abdomen”, but in bees the last section of thorax is fused to the first section of abdomen so instead of “thorax and abdomen”, it’s “mesosoma and metasoma“.

And the very end bit of a bees bum (and a lot of other invertebrates) is called the “pygidium“. From the Latin “pyga” for rump and meaning “The very end of the rump”, and “fimbriae” is just the term given to those particular hairs because they serve a purpose, like the hairs that collect pollen are called “scopae“…

So, Pre-pygidial fimbriae really just means “bum fluff with a purpose”.

Stenotritidae albomarginatus hanging around the Verticordias, Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Stenotritidae albomarginatus hanging around the Verticordia, Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Stenotritidae albomarginatus hanging around the Verticordias, Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Stenotritidae albomarginatus hanging around the Verticordia, Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Stenotritidae albomarginatus hanging around the Verticordias, Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Stenotritidae albomarginatus hanging around the Verticordia, Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor

In the following photographs by Marc Newman, you can see the “pre-pygidial fimbriae” hairs on the last section of the metasoma.

Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor, Hamelin Pool WA © Marc Newman
Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor, Hamelin Pool WA © Marc Newman
Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor, Hamelin Pool WA © Marc Newman
Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor, Hamelin Pool WA © Marc Newman
Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor, Hamelin Pool WA © Marc Newman
Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor, Hamelin Pool WA © Marc Newman
Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor, Hamelin Pool WA © Marc Newman
Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor, Hamelin Pool WA © Marc Newman
Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor, Hamelin Pool WA © Marc Newman
Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor, Hamelin Pool WA © Marc Newman
Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor, Hamelin Pool WA © Marc Newman

Footnote & References

  1. Images and content contribution by Gary Taylor, Western Australia
  2. Photographs Leioproctus (Alokocolletes) excubitor © Marc Newman, Flickr, https://flickr.com/photos/koolbee/albums

Bees AnatomyBees Antenna It’s in the eyes Pre-pygidial fimbria Wings of the bee

Bee BehaviourBubbling Bees Buzz Pollination Operculum lifting behaviour

BeesBees Anatomy Bee Behaviour Blogging Bees… Bees – image index Unidentified Australian Native Bees Amegilla Bees Apis mellifera Austroplebeia australis Austrothurgus  Braunsapis sp Ceylalictus perditellus Colletidae Euryglossinae Exoneura Hyleoides bivulnerata Lasioglossum Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) Lasioglossum (Homalictus) Leioproctus pappus Lipotriches Megachile Meroglossa Stenotritidae Tetragonula Thyreus Xylocopa