Amegilla paeninsulae

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

Amegilla paeninsulae is a bee recorded from tropical rainforest patches on Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. Described in 2017, it has orange abdominal bands that sometimes show a green sheen. Its name refers to the peninsula.

Appearance

Orange hair covers the upper thorax, and the pollen-carrying hairs on the female's hind legs are also orange. Females lack a dark streak on the hind tibia. Near the tip of their abdomen, scattered orange hairs accompany a denser central streak. Males are distinguished using the form of the seventh abdominal sternite as well as the external colouring.

Records

The name-bearing female and an associated male were collected north of Bamaga in June 2007. Other specimens came from nearby Cape York localities, including north of Lockhart River. The revision's dated material includes April to August and December, with most records in June and July. Those dates describe the examined collection; they are not a complete account of when the bee can be found.

The authors placed the species in Zonamegilla, alongside several other banded Australian Amegilla. Its rainforest association is documented, but the revision does not supply a species-specific account of nest construction or preferred pollen plants.