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Male Nomia Bees
by Corinne Jordan-Ivers

Aussie Bee Homepage > New Native Bee Photos > Nomia Bees

Corinne Jordan-Ivers captured these superb photographs of a cluster of male nomia bees, Lipotriches (Austronomia) satelles.

Nomia bees nest in burrows in the soil. However, at night large numbers of males may cluster together on grass or dry vegetation. Various species of nomia bees occur in all states of Australia.

Nomia bees Jordan-Ivers

Corinne said, 'These bees were clustered on the seed head of a Eleocharis sp. (Spike Rush) growing in a sheltered culvert near a large dam in Kathida, northern NSW. This sheltered area receives the last rays of sun for the day.

In late autumn when this photo was taken, the overnight temperature was plumeting to around 4-6 degrees. On initial observation of the cluster I thought they had died and frozen onto the seed head as when I touched them they didn't move, but later I discovered during the warmth of the day that they had gone off to forage. They returned only around 3.30pm to settle for the night.

So they are able to shut down their bodily functions and conserve energy to survive extremely cold temperatures. However, they did perish during the onslaught of winter when temperatures can reach -6 degrees in this region.'

lipotriches nomia bees

lipotriches

nomia bees

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