Feathery Leioproctus Bee

Leioproctus plumosus

Leioproctus plumosus is a member of the largest Australian bee family, the Colletidae, which contains more than half of the known species of native bees.
Leioproctus plumosus: Australian bee This species is commonly called the feathery Leioproctus bee. Yesterday, I watched tens of these - probably around a hundred - swarming over one of my Callistemon bottlebrush shrubs. These bees spend almost all year underground in tunnels that females dig in sandy soils. In spring, males and females begin flying, foraging and mating. Around 7 mm length. Apoidea,Australia,Australian bee,Colletidae,Colletinae,Feathery Leioproctus Bee,Geotagged,Hymenoptera,Leioproctus plumosus,arthropod,entomology,fauna,feathery Leioproctus bee,insect,invertebrate,macro,new south wales,spring

Appearance

The Feathery Leioproctus Bee is very hairy with a metallic green-blue body, head and thorax.

Distribution

The Feathery Leioproctus Bee is found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

Habitat

The Feathery Leioproctus Bee lives in urban areas with sandy ground, as well as forests and woodlands and heath.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/feathery-leioproctus-bee/
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderHymenoptera
FamilyColletidae
GenusLeioproctus
SpeciesLeioproctus plumosus
Photographed in
Australia