Megachile Aurifrons
''Megachile aurifrons'' is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae. It was described by Frederick Smith (entomologist), Frederick Smith in 1853. An Australian native bee that is larger than the usual native bee, the ''Megachile aurifrons'' female bee measures about 12 mm in length, whilst the male is smaller at about 10 mm in length. It is the female bee that has the distinctive red eyes, whilst the male have eyes that are more milky coloured with red tint. Both male and female of the species have the “golden brow” on their faces, hence their common name of the ‘Golden-browed Resin Bee’. The ‘resin’ part of the name alludes to the resin they make to cap their nesting holes. The female of the species select and prepare the nesting cells for the next generation of bees. Once each cell is cleaned and lined/filled with pollen/nectar, the female ''Megachile aurifrons'' lays a single larva in the cell and then seals the cell with a resin cap. What ''Megachile aurif ...
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Megachile Aurifrons Emerging From The Nesting Hole
The genus ''Megachile'' is a cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan group of solitary bees, often called leafcutter bees or leafcutting bees; it also includes the called resin bees and mortar bees. While other genus, genera within the family Megachilidae may chew leaves or petals into fragments to build their nests, certain species within ''Megachile'' neatly cut pieces of leaves or petals, hence their common name. This is one of the largest genera of bees, with more than 1500 species in over 50 subgenera. The alfalfa leafcutter bee (''Megachile rotundata'') is managed on a commercial scale for pollination management, crop pollination, and has been introduced by humans to various regions around the world. Ecology Nests are sometimes constructed within hollow twigs or other similarly constricted natural cavities, but often are in burrows in the ground. Nests are typically composed of single long columns of cells, the cells being sequentially constructed from the deepest por ...
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