Amegilla angustissima

Tilcayo Cats original · Amegilla · Sources and editorial assessment · Originals retention rule

Amegilla angustissima is a bee described in 2026 from a female collected on Misima Island in Papua New Guinea. It resembles the teddy bear bee A. bombiformis, but has much narrower orange bands and more extensive black hair on the abdomen.

Appearance

The known female is 16 mm long. Its face is largely yellow-orange, while the basal segment of the antenna is dark brown. On the second upper abdominal plate, black hairs cover about four-fifths of the visible surface, leaving a narrow orange band at the rear. The upper thorax has dark brown and black hairs.

The similar A. sinewita has an orange-marked antennal base, a somewhat broader orange abdominal band and different surface texture on the upper thorax. These characters were used together to distinguish the two species. The name angustissima refers to the unusually narrow bands.

Collection history and limits

The specimen was collected by W. W. Brandt at a site labelled Umana Camp, at 500 m elevation, during November–December 1963. Wood could not trace the camp's precise location. The specimen is held in the Australian National Insect Collection.

The male was unknown in the original description, which provides no species-specific nesting or flower-use observations. Misima is the documented locality; a single specimen does not establish the bee's full range or population size. The decades between collection and description do not mean that the species evolved or first appeared in 2026.