Bug FAQTeddy Bear Bee
Amegilla bombiformis · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae
Also called: Golden Haired Mortar Bee
The teddy bear bee is about the size of a European honeybee and builds urn-shaped cells about 2 cm long in short soil burrows. Males have seven dark, hair-less bands on the abdomen, females have six, and they are found across eastern Australia, New Guinea and the Aru Islands. They provision each egg with a pollen-nectar paste, visit garden flowers such as Abelia, Buddleja and blue flax lily, and can be parasitised by the domino cuckoo bee.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The abdomen shows several dark, hairless bands to seven in males and six in females.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
It is roughly the same size as a European honeybee. The nest cells are about 2 cm (0.8 in) long.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Each egg is supplied with a paste of pollen and nectar. Adults visit garden flowers such as Abelia, Buddleja and blue flax lily, and males rest on plant stems overnight.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females lay an egg in each cell together with the pollen-nectar provision. The nest can be infiltrated by the domino cuckoo bee, which lays its own egg in unattended burrows; its larva then consumes the food meant for the teddy bear bee larva.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults have been seen visiting garden flowers and males rest on stems during the night.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Amegilla bombiformis is native to Australia. Its range includes eastern Australia, New Guinea and the Aru Islands.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I recognise a teddy bear bee?
Look for a bee about the size of a honeybee with several dark, hairless bands on the abdomen to seven in males, six in females.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does the teddy bear bee live?
It is found in eastern Australia, New Guinea and the Aru Islands, nesting in short soil burrows on creek banks or garden rubble.
Source: Wikipedia
What does the teddy bear bee eat?
Adults visit garden flowers such as Abelia, Buddleja and blue flax lily, and females provision each egg with a pollen-nectar paste.
Source: Wikipedia
Are there any parasites that affect this bee?
Yes, the domino cuckoo bee can enter unattended nests and lay its egg, whose larva then consumes the food meant for the teddy bear bee larva.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Apidae)
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Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amegilla_bombiformis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.