4 ms·

I was just discussing blue bees with my friend--they're native to Australia. I had no idea they were in North America as well.

caf 6y ago
It's a different species though, this is the Australian one: https://imgur.com/X1vf3v4 https://imgur.com/X1vf3v4 Oddly enough they're solitary, rather than living in hives.
- BurningFrog 6y ago
  That's how you're not found!
- artursapek 6y ago
  Wow, that is a beautiful creature.
- stormdennis 6y ago
  I think most bees are solitary and live in burrows they make in the ground. And only two species of bee make honey.
  - markdown 6y ago
    > And only two species of bee make honey. Not true, unless you mean that humans only harvest the honey of two species.
    - stormdennis 6y ago
      I'm sure you're right, I was just quoting something someone told me one time and I probably picked them up wrong.
- Gibbon1 6y ago
  Last time I read about bee's I found that bees range from totally solitary, to gregarious, to communal, to a large number of eusocial colonial species.
- throwanem 6y ago
  Nothing odd about that. The popular concept of a beehive is a style of sociality specific to honeybees, which aren't even native to North America. It's only their economic importance that leads them to be regarded as the "standard" bee.
- leorio 6y ago
  is this Australian? seems like it's endemic to United States FL. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.872575/Osmia_calaminthae https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.8725...
  - caf 6y ago
    By "this" I meant the bee in the example picture I linked, Amegilla cingulata.
prawn 6y ago
I live in Australia and have gardened for decades paying attention to bees and other insects around me. The first time (just recently) that my parents talked to me about blue-banded bees, I was convinced they were trying to trick me. I had never seen one in my 40ish years. They've since sent me photos of two that they've encountered.

caf 6y ago

It's a different species though, this is the Australian one: https://imgur.com/X1vf3v4 https://imgur.com/X1vf3v4 Oddly enough they're solitary, rather than living in hives.

BurningFrog 6y ago
That's how you're not found!
artursapek 6y ago
Wow, that is a beautiful creature.
stormdennis 6y ago
I think most bees are solitary and live in burrows they make in the ground. And only two species of bee make honey.
- markdown 6y ago
  > And only two species of bee make honey. Not true, unless you mean that humans only harvest the honey of two species.
  - stormdennis 6y ago
    I'm sure you're right, I was just quoting something someone told me one time and I probably picked them up wrong.
Gibbon1 6y ago
Last time I read about bee's I found that bees range from totally solitary, to gregarious, to communal, to a large number of eusocial colonial species.
throwanem 6y ago
Nothing odd about that. The popular concept of a beehive is a style of sociality specific to honeybees, which aren't even native to North America. It's only their economic importance that leads them to be regarded as the "standard" bee.
leorio 6y ago
is this Australian? seems like it's endemic to United States FL. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.872575/Osmia_calaminthae https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.8725...
- caf 6y ago
  By "this" I meant the bee in the example picture I linked, Amegilla cingulata.

prawn 6y ago

I live in Australia and have gardened for decades paying attention to bees and other insects around me. The first time (just recently) that my parents talked to me about blue-banded bees, I was convinced they were trying to trick me. I had never seen one in my 40ish years. They've since sent me photos of two that they've encountered.