Hylaeus theodorei

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 Author Lisa Warman ◦

Hylaeus theodorei, also commonly known as Theodore’s Masked Bee, is one of the 173 species of Hylaeus found in Australia, in subgenus Gnathoprosopis, considered to be endemic to Australia, with current observed distribution along the coastal region of Queensland from Gladstone to Rockhampton, Townsville, Thursday Island and near the Northern Territory in the Top End.

Yesterday morning I walked outside to find a bee closing off her nest 💛 I hadn’t even seen her entering it previously! Though it’s been so hot here I haven’t been out bee-watching as much as usual.

I bee-lieve this is Hylaeus (Gnathoprosopis) theodorei 🐝💛 Thea 💛
Back in June/July I had a Thea making a couple of nests, which I checked this morning and both are open. I’m hoping that this little gal is from one of those nests… and therefore this is the second generation of Theas to nest in my air bee’n’bees 🐝💛🐝💛

In pic 4 you can see that she finishes off her nest with sawdust that she scrapes from the surrounding timber… maybe to help camouflage her nest? 🤷‍♀️

Lisa Warman

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• 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 Gnathoprosopis
• Species: Hylaeus theodorei

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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

ColletidaeAmphylaeus obscuriceps Hylaeus spp – Masked Bee Callomelitta antipodes Leioproctus Neopasiphae mirabilis Paracolletes crassipes Paracolletes nigrocinctus Trichocolletes