Amegilla: Blue-banded Bee

I’m still not having much luck with getting the Nikon to focus in time on this bee – the perfect reminder why I need to know how to deal with manual settings.

The blue-banded bee is a solitary bee. After the female has mated, she makes her nest and raises the young herself. She tunnels into the ground or into mud brick. They are in all Australian States except Tasmania.

I love the metallic blue furry stripes!

All adult blue-banded bees die with the onset of cold weather. The young and juveniles stay in the nests until the warmer months when they will fly (October – April).

The adult is 11mm long and they are not aggressive. Their sting is mild.

(Nikon D3000, on auto)

Thanks for looking.

speckled-eyed native drone fly in the apple tree (Nikon D3000)

Thanks for looking.

Bees & Bugs

Speckled-eyed native drone fly

Bees & Bugs

A Wasp Mimicking Hoverfly

I haven’t identified this drone or hover fly exactly, but it is definitely one of the bee and wasp mimicking fly species. This one is feeding on a milk thistle flower. Since I’ve been so busy with writing, the thistles have long-passed the seeding stage. The birds and insects love it. My ‘wild garden’ theme is a bit extreme!