[Pollinator] Another Bee, Another sun orchid

[Peter Bernhardt]

I sent the original photo of the spider-bee-orchid to Dr. Michael Batley who is curator of Hymenoptera at The Sydney Museum. He turned it over to the museum's spider specialist and she gave us the genus and family (see below). Michael, in turn, sent the attached photo taken by his sister in Western Australia. This is the blue lady or queen sun orchid (Thelymitra crinita).  It's my favorite of all the Australian sun orchids with blue flowers. When Dr Edens-Meier and I worked on this species in Western Australia we found it hybridized with  the scented leage-leaved sun orchid, T. macrophylla

Note the yellow bumps on its column hood and the violet-colored brushes. It is mimicking a tuft of anthers full of granular pollen. The Leioproctus bee (Colletidae) fell for the trick and, as usual, is wearing the orchid's pollen sacs on her abdomen, but she is probably carrying at least 3 different kinds of pollen. Aside from the orchid pollinia there are white grains in the hairs of her hind legs and note grains entangled in the hairs on the back of her thorax deposited where it's harder for her to come them off.  The pollen may have come from a trigger plant (Stylidium) or a blue-flowered member of the Goodeniaceae.

Peter

Hi Peter,
Helen Smith, one of our spider people here at the Museum, had a look at Rudi's picture and said
" The spider is a crab / flower spider, family Thomisidae. I think it is probably genus Australomisidia but it is not a group I work with so I would need more photos from different angles or a specimen to be more certain. "
For your interest, I have included a picture from Western Australia taken by my sister. The bee in this case is a Leioproctus species but I can't tell which one. She, at least, was still living.
Best wishes
Michael


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