''Hesperocolletes douglasi'', the Rottnest bee or Douglas's broad-headed bee, is a rediscovered species of

plasterer bee The Colletidae are a family (biology), family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees or polyester bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with secretions applied with their mouthparts; these s ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and the sole known member of the genus ''Hesperocolletes''. It was described from a single specimen collected in 1938 on

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island (), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a Islands of Perth, Western Australia, island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, ...

, located off the coast of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. A second specimen was found in 2015, in ''

Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and head ...

'' woodland at

Pinjar, Western Australia Pinjar is a rural locality in Perth, Western Australia. Its Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area is the City of Wanneroo. History The suburb of Pinjar is named after the large swampy lake of this name located nort ...

Description

The bee's body is black, shiny and 12 mm long and wings were brown and up to 8 mm long. It is about the same size as a honeybee. It is generally black and brown and moderately hairy. ''Hesperocolletes douglasi'' is superficially like a number of other native bees and careful examination under a microscope would be required to distinguish a specimen.

Taxonomy

Bee expert Charles Michener described and named the species in 1965 on the basis of the 1938 specimen, designating it as the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

, and created the monotypic genus ''Hesperocolletes'' for ''Hesperocolletes douglasi'' alone. No record of the circumstances of capture (e.g. flowers visited) is available. The species, which is named for its collector, A.M. Douglas, belongs to the subfamily Paracolletinae, part of the large family

Colletidae The Colletidae are a family (biology), family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees or polyester bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with secretions applied with their mouthparts; these s ...

. Colletids are characterized by having a short, broad, blunt tongue (" glossa") (a flexible, hairy appendage at the end of the

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a pr ...

, not always visible as it can be retracted). Paracolletines (at least in most species, including ''Hesperocolletes douglasi'') have three submarginal cells in the fore wing and females usually have densely hairy hind legs (for carrying pollen). The diagnostic characters of ''H. douglasi'' can occur individually in various paracolletine bees, and it is the combination of those features that one must look for: *lower part of face yellow-brown * labrum (a hinged flap attached to the lower margin of the face) more than twice as wide as long and not strongly convex *a distinct carina (sharp edge) around and especially behind each compound eye *

tarsal claw This glossary describes the terms used in formal descriptions of spiders; where applicable these terms are used in describing other arachnids. Links within the glossary are shown . Terms A * Abdomen or opisthosoma: One of the two main body par ...

s with inner prongs expanded and flattened

Habitat and range

A further, female, specimen was found in 2015, in "an isolated banksia woodland remnant in the Southwest Floristic Region of Western Australia (...) in the Gnangara-Moore River State Forest, north of Perth". After its rediscovery in 2015, ''Hesperocolletes douglasis conservation status has been changed from "presumed extinct" to "critically endangered" under the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act. Little is known about the biology, ecology and geographic range of this rare native bee species, and its rediscovery highlights the importance of preservation, restoration and proper management of remnant vegetation in face of anthropogenic threats to safeguard habitat for biodiversity.

References

External links

*Report of the rediscovery of the species: https://www.communitynews.com.au/wanneroo-times/news/native-bee-thought-extinct-found-in-pinjar-banksia-woodland/ * * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q18102175, from2=Q2206767 Colletidae Hymenoptera of Australia Arthropods of Western Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Rottnest Island Monotypic bee genera

Description

Taxonomy

Habitat and range

See also

References

External links