Hylaeus (Prosopisteron) sp. (genus & subgenus)
2 Masked Bee at Kurnell, NSW
Identify this sighting
| Hylaeus (Prosopisteron) sp. (genus & subgenus) | 11 Oct 2022 | michael.batley | ||
| Hylaeus (Prosopisteron) minusculus | 11 Oct 2022 | Roger |
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User's notes
All of the bees were taken in the Kama Botany Bay NP, in or near the Yena picnic area.
3 comments
11 Oct 2022
Not really. There are many small Hylaeus species with pale marks on the face and part of the legs and on that basis could be said to be like your photo. It is also important to know whether one is looking at a male or a female.
H. minusculus is a rather slender species and I would have expected to be able to notice that even at the angle shown. If it were a male H. minusculus, there would be no black between the face marks at the side and in the middle of the face and the scapes at the base of the antennae would be yellow, not black. My count of antennal segments, however, suggests that it is a female and a female H. minusculus would have no yellow at all in the middle of the face.
I am afraid that the identification of masked bee species can often depend on small differences like this.
H. minusculus is a rather slender species and I would have expected to be able to notice that even at the angle shown. If it were a male H. minusculus, there would be no black between the face marks at the side and in the middle of the face and the scapes at the base of the antennae would be yellow, not black. My count of antennal segments, however, suggests that it is a female and a female H. minusculus would have no yellow at all in the middle of the face.
I am afraid that the identification of masked bee species can often depend on small differences like this.
Location information
- Coordinates 151.230209-34.011634
- Places Kurnell, NSW
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 8 Oct 2022 11:51 AM Recorded on
- Roger Recorded by
- Less than 5mm Animal size
Collections
- Roger Greater Sydney NatureMapr Hylaeus (Prosopisteron) sp. (genus & subgenus) Bees (Hymenoptera, Apiformes) Insects
Species information
- Hylaeus (Prosopisteron) sp. (genus & subgenus) Scientific name
- Masked Bee Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 791m Recorded at altitude
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
- More than one media file
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species