Amegilla bombiformis
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Amegilla bombiformis is an Australian native bee in the family Apidae. It is one of several hairy bee species generally referred to as teddy bear bees due to their fuzzy appearance. It was originally described by F. Smith in 1854 as Saropoda bombiformis from a collection near the Richmond River in New South Wales, before being reclassified in the genus Amegilla in 1965. Its specific epithet bombiformis is Latin for "form of a bumblebee".
Amegilla bombiformis is a stocky bee which resembles a bumblebee in shape, and is covered in orange-brown fur. The abdomen has several dark hairless bands, seven in the case of males, six for females. It is similar in size to a European honeybee.
A. bombiformis has been recorded visiting Abelia, Buddleja, and blue flax lily (Dianella caerulea) flowers in the garden; males rest overnight attached to plant stems. They are found in eastern Australia, from Queensland through New South Wales and into Victoria, and as well as New Guinea and the Aru Islands to the north.
The nest consists of several urn-shaped cells at the end of a 10 cm (4 in) long burrow, located in soil or... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Teddy Bear Bee sighting in Sydney on a given day, based on 219 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 56th most-seen of the 742 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and March
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Teddy Bear Bee in Sydney on a given day, against under 5% in May to November, the lowest months. Those are among Sydney's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain a month against 45 mm in September.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Teddy Bear Bee sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Teddy Bear Bee sightings, Sydney has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Brisbane (Australia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Teddy Bear Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Sydney (219 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
