EuryglossinaeIndex Callohesma Dasyhesma Euhesma Euryglossa Euryglossina Xanthesma

Photographs Marc Newman â—¦

The species Eurglossa adelaidae is commonly known as the Adelaide Broad-Tongue.

My introduction to native bees was accidental.

Visiting friends in Stanthorpe for a cuppa our departure stirred up a swarm of insects from a low hanging pine tree branch. Closer inspection revealed that they were small bees roosting in large numbers for the night.

A week later my wife Jan, sent me off with our scraps bucket to bury late one evening and I came across a similar aggregation of native bees on our Melaleuca armillaris. There would have been 300 to 400 bees distributed along a low hanging branch.

The bee species turned out to be Euryglossa adelaidae, identified by Dr. Michael Batley of the Australian Museum. The bees have returned to what I now call my bee tree each year, but nowhere near the same numbers (an aspect that I am struggling to understand).

Author Marc Newman
Eurglossa adelaidae male, Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Eurglossa adelaidae male, Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Eurglossa adelaidae males, Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Eurglossa adelaidae males, Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Hymenoptera
  • Superfamily: Apoidea
  • Informal: Apiformes
  • Family: Colletidae
  • Subfamily: Euryglossinae
  • Genus: Euryglossa
  • Species: Euryglossa adelaidae

Footnote & References

  1. Photographs Eurglossa adelaidae © Marc Newman, Flickr, https://flickr.com/photos/koolbee/albums
  2. Adelaide Broad-Tongue (Euryglossa adelaidae), iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/603336-Euryglossa-adelaidae

EuryglossinaeIndex Callohesma Dasyhesma Euhesma Euryglossa Euryglossina Xanthesma

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