Dozens of mysterious holes have erupted in an Australian backyard, leaving the homeowner perplexed. Pictures supplied to Yahoo News show what many gardeners mistook for anthills, but an expert has revealed something very different had been living inside.
WA Museum research associate Dr Terry Houston identified the creatures as a native species of burrowing bee called Leioproctus plumosus. Despite the tiny, furry species being common across southern Australia, few people are familiar with its fascinating behaviour.
Unlike European honeybees, Leioproctus plumosus and the rest of its genus are solitary creatures, with each female creating and tending to her own nest.
“The females collect pollen mainly from myrtaceous plants such as Callistemon, Melaleuca and Eucalyptus,” Houston said. “Like most native bees, females possess an effective sting, but they are reluctant to use it.”
Related: Hidden world of native bees that most people can’t see
The native bee living inside the burrows was identified as Leioproctus plumosus. Source: Chris Ford
Do you have something curious living in your backyard? Email: Michael.Dahlstrom@yahooinc.com
Gardener’s mistake after bee pictures shared
The bees were discovered in the yard of Perth resident Chris Ford. She told Yahoo the burrows appeared to all open at once last week along a one-metre-wide space along the side of her unit.
While her dog was initially curious about what was happening in the yard, she’s now lost interest. And Chris is doing her best to simply coexist with the sudden burst of nature in her suburban pad.
“I try to avoid them when I walk out the door. I only go out the side to hang the laundry out, so I don’t mind them,” she said.
“They’re now buzzing all over the place. There are none in the burrows now. They’re so quick.”
How many of these holes are home to ants? Answer: None, they’re all burrowing bee nests. Source: Chris Ford
After she posted pictures of her yard to a gardening forum on social media, some respondents confessed they would have mistaken them for ants. And one person horrifyingly said she would have poured boiling water down the holes, something that would have killed off the tiny pollinators and caused wider environmental harm to their suburb’s complex ecosystem.
Luckily for the creatures, Chris is a nature lover, and their arrival was a “welcome surprise”. “I don’t mind spiders or anything like that, even if I have a redback inside, I’ll gently take it out into the yard,” she said.
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