''Hylaeus alcyoneus'', commonly known as the banksia bee, is a

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

where it is commonly found in the

coastal heath The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

s of eastern and southern

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. This bee is an important

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...

of ''

Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range i ...

'' species. The banksia bee was originally described by German entomologist

Wilhelm Ferdinand Erichson Dr Wilhelm Ferdinand Erichson (26 November 1809 in Stralsund – 18 December 1848 in Berlin) was a trained medical doctor and a German entomologist. He was the author of many articles about insects mainly in ''Archiv für Naturgeschichte''. When w ...

in 1842; its specific epithet is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

''halcyon'' "kingfisher" relating to its kingfisher blue colour. The banksia bee has a metallic blue abdomen and yellow face markings. The

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

of this species is notable amongst bees — the males of the species are significantly larger than the females; in most other types of bee, females are larger than males. Males of different sizes have been shown to display different feeding behaviour. Large males perch and defend ''Banksia''

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s that are in high positions on the shrub where they feed; small males feed closer to the ground and patrol circuits including several inflorescences. Displacement of large males from the perches is almost always by an even larger male. Western Australian banksias which the bee has been recorded visiting include ''

Banksia ashbyi ''Banksia ashbyi'', commonly known as Ashby's banksia, is a species of shrub or small tree that is Endemism, endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth, grey bark, deeply serrated, hairy leaves and spikes of bright orange flowers. Descriptio ...

'', '' B. coccinea'', '' B. hookeriana'', '' B. ilicifolia'', '' B. menziesii'', '' B. prionotes'', '' B. sessilis'', and '' B. speciosa''. Other species include ''

Allocasuarina campestris ''Allocasuarina campestris'', commonly known as the Shrubby she-oak, is a shrub of the she-oak family Casuarinaceae native to Western Australia. The dioecious or monoecious shrub typically grows to a height of and produces red-brown flowers fro ...

'', '' Grevillea cagiana'', '' G. eriostachya'', '' Isopogon dubius'', and

Xanthorrhoea ''Xanthorrhoea'' () is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants endemic to Australia. Species are known by the name grass tree. Description All are perennials and have a secondary thickening meristem in the stem. Many, but not all, sp ...

'' species. The Banksia bee faces competition from the introduced European honey bee (''

Apis mellifera The western honey bee or European honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name ''Apis'' is Latin for "bee", and ''mellifera'' is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", ...

''). In sites where the species coexist, the Banksia bee has significantly fewer nests that it has on sites where there is no competition. A banksia bee nest consists of several cavities or cells within hollowed pieces of wood. A parent bee places provisions of pollen and nectar in each cell, along with a single egg.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2799202 Colletidae Hymenoptera of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Insects described in 1842 Taxa named by Wilhelm Ferdinand Erichson