Amegilla ruficauda

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

Amegilla ruficauda is a bee described in 2026 from three females collected in Papua New Guinea. Its name means red-tailed, referring to the contrasting golden-orange hair near the end of the abdomen. The specimens came from Lihir Island, New Ireland and Lae on the New Guinea mainland.

Appearance

The females measure 12–14 mm long. The first three upper abdominal plates are largely dark-haired, whereas the fourth and fifth are covered with golden-orange hair. The thorax varies from brown mixed with black to almost entirely black-haired. The specimen from Lihir has substantially lighter body colouring than the mainland specimen.

Unlike the similarly coloured bees around A. bombiformis, A. ruficauda has a strong contrast between the dark front and orange rear of the abdomen. Its narrow bands on the earlier segments may be bright or obscure. Identification therefore relies on the arrangement of the colours, rather than one uniform shade.

One species, provisionally

Wood found no structural differences sufficient to divide the light and dark females. The New Ireland specimen was intermediate, supporting a conservative decision to keep all three under one name. He nevertheless left open the possibility that more material, particularly males, could show that the mainland population is a different species.

The name-bearing female was collected on Lihir in October 2001; the Lae specimen dates from April 1974. Males, nests and species-specific flower use were not described. The small series establishes documented localities, not a complete distribution or a conservation assessment.