We all have seen yellow and brown hybrid bees. Although you might hear it or not, there are bees with blue bands. The Australian blue-banded bee is one of the most beautiful wild bees globally, and they are native to Australia. Blue-banded bees are also known as long-tongued bees or buzz pollinators. Male Bees have five metallic blue stripes across their black abdomens, and females have four. Blue bees’ faces have yellow, cream, or white markings. Blue-banded bees consider as solitary insects and are found in all states of Australia except Tasmania, and they inhabit urban areas, woodlands, forests, and health areas. The species is found all over Australia, excluding Tasmania. There are eleven species of described blue-banded bees in Australia, ranging in size from 8-14 mm.
Each Blue-banded female bee mates and then builds a solitary nest by herself. Female bee builds nest a shallow burrow in clay soil or sometimes in mud bricks. It can see many blue-banded bees build their nests close to another nest like neighboring houses in a village. They place a mixture of nectar and pollen in the cell, before depositing an egg. After one egg is deposited, each cell will be capped. Female bees close the burrow with a layer of soil when all cells are filled and capped. It takes about seven weeks to hatch new baby bees from eggs, and those that do not hatch due to approaching winter, overwinter in their cells, emerging in the following spring. J. C. Cardinale (Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra 1968) said that blue-banded bees live for about 40 days, and about three generations hatch during one summer.
Their pollination process is called “buzz pollination”. Some flowers hide their pollen inside tiny capsules. A Blue Banded Bee can grasp a flower of this type and shiver her flight muscles, causing the pollen to shoot out of the capsule. She can then collect the pollen for her nest and carry it from flower to flower, pollinating the flowers. Tomato flowers are also pollinate better with the buzz pollination process. Researchers at the University of Adelaide executed substantial growth in developing native Blue Banded Bees for greenhouse tomato pollination.
Blue-banded bees get together in small groups at night. When a new bee visits to settle with them, they vigorously shake their legs and wiggle their abdomens. However, they all tuck their legs under their bodies to sleep finally. They turn into their daily routines of foraging in the morning.
Blue-banded bees are also a colorful part of the Nature. They also balance the biodiversity of the world. Although they are native to Australia, some blue-banded spices have been found in other countries. You can make mud bricks if you are in their region and want to attract them to your garden. Drill various holes 10-15 mm wide and 25- 50 mm deep before the mud-brick dries and place the finished brick sheltered. You can use an extruded brick with core holes, in which the holes are filled with mud. When the mud dries, drill holes for the bees.
Please see below captures of Blue-banded bees, and I hope you all get attracted by their shiny blue bands.
Thank you.
Credit: Nick Volpe Wildlife Photography
