Identificaciones de peterabbott

On Astartea in winter wet swampland on sand.

This bee was found floundering in a large tub of water, After its rescue it took some 15 minutes for it to dry off suficiently so that it could fly away.

In person, this bee had a bright metallic aqua sheen, but this didn't translate to the photo so it looks far paler than it actually was.

About 7mm. Two other bees also present, of other types. I just submitted the larger of the other two bees, but didn’t get a good shot of the smallest bee. Maybe this?

On Westringia

Last 2 sightings had better photos.
This one was scoping out gaps in the veggie beds and mulched pots.
They’re still in & out of the wood mulch pile.

A pair of Masked Bees were perched on a dead Coastal Banksia cone for several minutes. The bee on the left of the first photo was making a bubble.

It willingly climbed onto my finger.
How lucky am I? 😊
Second sighting here in my garden in Victoria (last observation in Nov 2023).

Several small bees were feeding in Coastal Banksia. The fourth photo shows a comparison in size with a European Honeybee and a small ant. The last photo shows several small bees with one flying.

Possibly Hylaeus chlorosoma? (Peter Abbott)