What are Blue Banded Bees?
The common blue banded bee (Amegilla cingulata) is native to most parts of Australia, except for Tasmania and parts of the NT. It isn't the only kind of blue banded bee - there are other species of blue banded bee in the Amegilla genus - but it is probably the most well known.
They are very similar in size to European honey bees, but blue banded bees have a distinctly different appearance. As the name suggests, these bees have beautiful blue stripes along their abdomens. These stripes can range from pale to very bright blue, depending on the individual bee and the light. They look boxier in shape than European honey bees, and have lighter coloured, fuzzy looking backs. Because they fly so quickly, I often spot a bright blue blur flying around flowers rather than
I often hear blue banded bees before I see them - they move so quickly that it can be difficult to spot them. The racing speed that common blue banded bees jump between flowers make European honey bees look slow. If you want to take photos of blue banded bees, you will need a lot of patience and a bit of time - I have lots of blurry photos with no bee on my phone.
Blue banded bees are solitary; they don't form hives or swarms. Instead, female common blue banded bees dig their own solitary nests in sandstone and bare soil. They also burrow into mortar or mudbricks. Inside of these nests, the female bees create oval-shaped cells where they lay their eggs.
The male blue banded bees do not live in burrows like their female counterparts. Instead, the male bees like to roost together in small groups at night. They hang onto twigs or stems with their mandibles, tucking in their legs as they sleep.
Blue banded bees have a different way of pollinating plants to European honey bees called 'buzz pollination'. They hold the flower and shake using their flight muscles. This shaking dislodges the flower's pollen. Flowers that rely on buzz pollination tend to be shaped differently
How to make your garden Blue Banded Bee Friendly
One of the most important ways to help blue banded bees is to plant flowers that they forage from. Blue banded bees love a variety of different flowers, both native and introduced.
There is a large variety of common garden plants that blue banded bees like. They love lavender, salvias, tomatoes and chilli plants, but I have also seen one buzzing around brassica flowers before. It was previously thought that blue banded bees only like purple or blue flowers, but this is not true, as they can be found pollinating many other colours. Blue banded bees
Even though blue banded bees will forage from introduced species, the best way to support them is to plant species native to your specific area (in my case, plants native to the Grey Box grassy woodlands), as this supports the whole ecosystem. There are many other kind of native bee that need support, along with plenty of other insects native to Australia.
Since common blue banded bees dig burrows, it is helpful to leave patches of bare earth in your garden. Consider leaving some dry twigs or grassy plants alone in your garden. A friend of mine had some plants in a corner that male blue banded bees slept on over last summer. Having a garden that isn't perfectly manicured and groomed is actually good for native bees! If you want to specifically attract blue banded bees to next, you can make or buy mud bricks designed with holes for the bees to burrow in.
Because common blue banded bees are 'buzz pollinators', and really like certain flowers, people have been researching to see how they could be used in the pollination of crops like tomatoes. Even though they aren't purposefully used in agriculture yet, they might be pollinating some of your future veggies!
Biodiversity is key
Common blue banded bees do not exist in isolation - they are just one part of the ecosystem. Plants rely on bees for pollination, and other animals rely on those plants for food. Everything is connected in some way. A diverse ecosystem is a more resilient ecosystem. If one species goes extinct, or a new pathogen is harming one organism in particular, biodiversity means that the whole system won't collapse. Biodiversity exists all across our world, which makes it interesting to go different places. Wouldn't it be boring if there was only one species of bee?
There are threats to Australia's wildlife every day. There are out of control weeds, different diseases and fungus and plenty of feral animals. These threats aren't exclusive to native wildlife - they threaten introduced species, including the crops that we rely on for the majority of food production. The invasion of varroa mites has shown that depending solely on European honey bees for pollination in agriculture is very risky. Just the one little mite has the potential to severely impact out food chain from honey to crops like almonds. Monocultures do not have the resilience that biodiversity provides.
Blue banded bees are very important, not just for native species but also potentially Australian agriculture. Keep an eye out for them next time you're in the garden!
Comments