Amegilla viridicingulata

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

Amegilla viridicingulata is a bee from coastal north-eastern Queensland with green-iridescent abdominal bands. Its scientific name means green-banded. It was described in 2017 in a revision of Australian Amegilla.

Appearance

Both sexes have orange-brown hair on the upper thorax and orange hair on the hind legs. Females lack a dark streak in the hind tibial pollen brush and have scattered white hair near the abdominal tip. Male identification also uses the hair on the underside and the shape of the seventh abdominal sternite. The combination of these characters is more useful than the green colour alone.

Records and description

The name-bearing female and associated male were collected at Cooktown in July 2007. The description also drew on other material, including Cooktown specimens from 1982. Records tabulated in the revision span the calendar year. The species was placed in Zonamegilla and compared with other orange-haired and banded species, including A. karlba.

The published description establishes the bee's identity and known distribution. It does not establish a population trend, nor does its coastal range alone show that the species is threatened.