Hylaeus spp – Masked BeeHylaeus (Prosopisteron) Hylaeus albonitens Hylaeus alcyoneus Hylaeus constrictiformis Hylaeus douglasi Hylaeus elegans Hylaeus euxanthus Hylaeus maiellus Hylaeus nubilosus Hylaeus proximus Hylaeus ruficeps Hylaeus theodorei Hylaeus violaceus Hylaeus vittatifrons

Images and Contributor Author Gary Taylor

Hylaeus elegans, one of my all time favourites. They seem to show up around this time every year, just as the Coastal Moorts (Eucalyptus platypus) start flowering. The last pic shows some scale but you might need to click on the pic to see it properly. To the left is Exoneura, Hylaeus in the middle and Amegilla on the right.

Author Gary Taylor, Geraldton, Midwest WA
Hylaeus elegans, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Hylaeus elegans, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Hylaeus elegans, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Hylaeus elegans, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Hylaeus elegans, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor

Hylaeus elegans, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Hylaeus elegans, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Hylaeus elegans, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor

Hylaeus (Euprosopis) elegans has a current distribution across the Australian mainland.2


  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Hymenoptera
  • Superfamily: Apoidea
  • Informal: Apiformes
  • Family: Colletidae
  • Subfamily: Hylaeinae
  • Genus: Hylaeus
  • Subgenus: infrageneric Euprosopis
  • Species: Hylaeus elegans
Hylaeus elegans on Eucalyptus platypus © Gary Taylor
Hylaeus elegans on Eucalyptus platypus, commonly known as Coastal Moort or Mort © Gary Taylor

Footnote & References

  1. Images and content contribution by Gary Taylor, Western Australia
  2. Hylaeus (Euprosopis) elegans, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:351be9fd-4b56-4f3d-8366-ebf85c445d89

Hylaeus spp – Masked BeeHylaeus (Prosopisteron) Hylaeus albonitens Hylaeus alcyoneus Hylaeus constrictiformis Hylaeus douglasi Hylaeus elegans Hylaeus euxanthus Hylaeus maiellus Hylaeus nubilosus Hylaeus nubilosus Mud nest Hylaeus nubilosus Yellow Mask / White Mask Hylaeus proximus Hylaeus ruficeps Hylaeus (Euprosopoides) ruficeps ruficeps Hylaeus theodorei Hylaeus violaceus Hylaeus vittatifrons

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