shapeofthings | Blue-arsed bees (Reply)

Them's some mighty bee jaws!

A couple of weeks ago1 Josh called me out into the garden to see some strange bees. There were unlike any bees I'd seen before: not European honey bees and not native black bees. The wierdest thing, however, wasn't their bright blue arses. The truly weird thing was that they were lining up along strands of the Cat's Claw creeper I'd poisoned the week before, grasping on with their jaws, lifting their bodies into the air then wiggling their wings back and forth. I kid you not. It looked as if they were getting high on the weed killer.

I've since found out that they're a type of native bee that's become quite rare since European honey bees were introduced to Australia. I've still no idea if they're tripping bees, but I happen to know an entomologist who specialises in native bees (honestly!), so I should know more soon. Hooray for freaky bees!