Only in Australia! Amazing BLUE native bees go viral with Aussies saying they never knew the bright bugs existed – so have you seen one?
- Blue-banded bee are found across the country and are attracted to native plants
- They live solitary lives and shake plants in attempts to get the pollen off
- They have stingers but aren’t aggressive and don’t produce any honey
Australians are in awe of a native bee covered in deep blue stripes after learning the unusual insect can be found across the country.
The blue-banded bee can be spotted in gardens in each state except for Tasmania and can be recognised by the coloured stripes around their abdomen.
While the bees have stingers they are not known to be aggressive and are attracted to native plants including tomato flowers.
The insects, which are also known by their scientific name Amegilla cingulate, live solitary lives and don’t produce any honey.
The blue-banded bee can be spotted in gardens in each state except for Tasmania and can be recognised by their coloured stripes around their abdomen
They can often be heard in gardens shaking flowers in an attempt to get the pollen off.
Females build their own nest which are usually dug into soft mud or sandstone bricks.
The blue bees can grow to up to 11mm and usually live for around 40 days.
Males have five coloured bands around their bodies while females have four.
A photo of the mysterious insect taken by wildlife photographer Nick Volpe went viral on Facebook with many Australians admitting they’d never even heard of it.
‘Never seen a blue bee or knew they existed. Beautiful,’ one person wrote.
‘That’s amazing! I’ve never seen or heard of anything like it!’ Another said.
Others said they were lucky enough to have the blue bees visit their gardens regularly.
They can often be heard in gardens shaking flowers in an attempt to get all the pollen off
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