Native Sweat Bee Foraging on Daisy at Tungkillo, South Australia Patrick Prior
The Australian Native Sweat Bee or the Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum sp.), forages the pollen of a Capeweed flower or Cape Dandelion (Arctotheca calendula), to support its nest. These native bees have no queens, nor honey that could be farmed. Depending on the species, they can be more solitary creatures who make small burrows in the soil. The nest consists of a singular opening with different tunnels for each female bee to call her own. The small town of Tungkillo in The Mid Murray Council, South Australia allows these solitary bees to escape the hard asphalt expanses of urbanization and dig into the soft soil in the countryside.
These bees are a part of about seventy percent of native Australian bees who nest in the soil. While Capeweed is seen as a pesky weed that the typical farmer would rather spray away, this bee needs to visit around four to eight flowers each minute, pollinating up to 1200 flowers a day to support her nest. While her fluffy legs and abdomen add to her cuteness factor, this allows her to fulfil her vital job of pollinating crops.



