Amegilla calva

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

Amegilla calva is an Australian bee found across a broad central part of the continent. Its range was once divided between A. calva in the east and A. paracalva in the west. A 2020 revision concluded that the supposed differences did not support two species.

Appearance

Females have a white pollen brush on the hind tibia, a pale mark above the central face plate and no black hair band at the front of the second upper abdominal plate. Males have a small round patch of black bristles on the fourth abdominal sternite and a triangular notch on the fifth.

Why the names were combined

The revisers compared colour and structural characters across specimens. Some pale facial colouring used to distinguish paracalva came from freshly emerged bees that may not yet have developed their full adult colour. Small differences in male structures did not consistently separate eastern from western material. The authors therefore placed paracalva in synonymy with calva, while recognising variation within the species.

Feeding and behaviour

Recorded flower visits include Eremophila, Trichodesma and Cassia. The revision also summarises a study of mating behaviour similar to that of A. dawsoni, with males seeking mates near emergence sites. Unlike A. dawsoni, the observed A. calva males belonged to a single size class. The two species' behaviour should not be treated as identical in every detail.