native stingless bee

Description:

A small species of native stingless bee (Tribe Meliponini). "Stingless bees are a large and diverse tropical and subtropical group of social bees. Their diversity include[s] perennial colonies that range in size from fewer than 100 to tens of thousands of workers. They are able to utilize diverse and elaborate communication systems with well-developed recruitment mechanisms that include scent-marking and acoustical communication. Species vary considerably in their nest architecture, which ranges from brood cells in horizontal combs or clusters, constructed within crevices or in the ground, and occasionally within the active colonies of other social insects. The island of New Guinea has only few species. Two of the genera are either endemic or unusually diverse in New Guinea: Papuatrigona and Platytrigona. [The] other two genera have dispersed to the island with the majority of the diversity either west in the Indo-Malay region (Tetragonula) or south, in Australia (Austroplebeia, Tetragonula). Most species appear to be widespread, with only Platytrigona restricted to certain areas, although sampling is very scattered and additional records and species are very likely to occur following field collections and comprehensive taxonomic treatments. All of the species, except all of Tetragonula, are endemic to New Guinea." http://www.papua-insects.nl/insect%20ord...

Habitat:

Several individuals spotted visiting an outdoor potted crown-of-thorns plant (Euphorbia milii) in a large semi-urban yard & garden next to a disturbed patch of remnant lowland forest.