These native bees may look like fuzzy teddy bears at first glance; their fat bodies and golden hue recall those found on fuzzy toys. Wider and longer than bumblebees but smaller than Blue Banded Bees, these native species are widely distributed across eastern Australia except Tasmania.
Teddy bear bees are important pollinators that help ensure the reproduction of wildflowers and other plants. By penetrating flowers with vibrations they release pollen held inside tiny capsules within flowers that had previously accumulated within them.
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Pollination
Teddy bear bees are solitary insects; each female builds her own nest in a small hole in the ground near a creek bank or rubble pile. She creates two cm long waterproof cells in which to lay her eggs, providing food to feed their developing larvae before sealing and finally dying from exhaustion.
Bumble bees and honey bees carry pollen in small baskets on their hind legs, while native solitary bees such as the teddy bear bee have special hairs that vibrate as it moves from flower to flower to help pollination. Erica captured an incredible photograph that beautifully displays this.
To attract teddy bear bees into your garden, provide them with a protected corner where soil remains exposed; native solitary bees such as the ones found here require exposed soil in which to dig their burrows and lay eggs.
Food
The Teddy Bear Bee (Amegilla bombiformis) is an Australian native burrowing bee that resembles a bumblebee in appearance and size, stocky with furry wings that feature dark bands on their abdomen. They can be found across Australia excluding Tasmania, nesting solitary or nesting close together underground by digging urn-shaped cells into soil or eroded banks and filling each cell with pollen, nectar and an egg before laying its own egg on it.
Sonification (also called buzz pollination) bees are among the few native species capable of sonification pollination, or sonification pollination, to ensure successful fertilisation between different plants. When entering flowers, these bees shiver their flight muscles which causes tiny capsules to open and release pollen allowing pollination of all different sorts to take place successfully ensuring successful fertilisation for certain plant reproduction processes; abelia, blue flax lilies, and buddleja are among its frequent targets as pollinators ensuring successful pollination is vitally important ensuring successful fertilisation between different plant generations ensuring successful fertilisation between generations – this bee makes an invaluable garden pollinator!
Habitat
These solitary bees feed on various flowers both endemic and exotic, such as Abelia, blue flax lilies (Dianella caerulea) and buddleja. Their vibrational waves reach flower buds that open, leading to pollen being released and spreading across their wings. Buzz pollination occurs when bees reach one flower and fly around it for some time causing vibrations which activate it enough for pollen release.
Teddy bear bees are golden-brown in colour with dark bands on the abdomen, similar to blue banded bees but slightly smaller than European honeybees.
These native bees can easily be identified on any landscape, thanks to their distinctive chubby form and soft soil nests they build beneath sheltering foliage such as greenery. Their fuzzy bodies make them the ideal choice for gardeners wanting to create bee habitat in their home gardens; one great option being Biome’s free-standing bee hotel that makes an attractive feature while providing safe shelter for our chubby friends.
Breeding
Honeybees may be easily recognized with their yellow and black stripes, but other solitary bee species boast far more exotic appearances – take the teddy bear bee (Amegilla bombiformis) for instance, covered by thick hairs that range in hue from gold to orange.
Once a female bee has mated, she begins building her nest in an isolated hole in the ground. She creates two cm long waterproof cells for egg laying before filling them with pollen and nectar for her offspring – sealing each cell with mud for safekeeping.
Western Australia is experiencing its third drought-busting year since 1988, which may account for why its Teddy bear bee population has increased at an uncharacteristic pace. Judd suggests this may be the result of better than average rainfall boosting plant growth their young feed on or male pheromone attracting packs of female bees to burrows so they can mate – leading them to ensure more eggs hatch than usual.
