Megachile aurifrons - Native Australian Bee

Well hello again everyone! It is an exciting time of year at the moment, this is because all the native buzzies are out and breeding! This means that they are all out looking for unoccupied holes to take up residence in, and fortunately, I have many, which means many many bees!

One that is frequently seen at the moment is Megachile aurifrons, aka the Golden Browed Resin Bee. These little bees seem to be much more hesitant of humans, understandably, than some of the other I've encountered, it took me half a day to capture a photo of this little girl.

The aurifrons bee belongs to the resin bees group, this group of is so called as they collect and seal the caps of their nesting holes with.

The aurifrons are technically in the leaf cutter family, and like to macerate leaf pieces into pulp creating a resin like material with which they seal their nests.

Males and females differ greatly, females are usually around 12mm in length, where as the males are much smaller at 10mm. Also where the female has bright red eyes, the males are much more milky and tinted red. Both the male and female have their trademark golden brown brows.

Aurifrons can vary quite a bit in their body and banding colour, this will be dependent of their age. If the bee has distinct white bands it is a younger bee. The more black the bee becomes, the older the bee will be.

Did you know that these gorgeous bees collect pollen on their abdomens.

This pollen is collected so it can be packed into each cell for the females pending young.

First load of pollen.

Female packing down pollen.

Female lining a cell, and sealing it.

I was actually blessed to be able to watch this little girl lay one of the eggs in this chamber. A magical moment indeed.

This is her gorgeous nest, all finished, her babies all snuggled, and tucked away waiting to break free and follow in their mums wings.

For some short videos of these gorgeous bees, buzz over to my Instagram page - https://www.instagram.com/becpidgeon?igsh=MXQ1dTYyeTM2aXp6eQ==