Michael Batley

Honorary Research Associate

Qualifications

Bachelor of Science, University of Sydney, 1961
PhD, University of Sydney, 1967

After a career in teaching and research in the field of physical chemistry, I became interested in Australian native bees. I found spectacularly coloured cuckoo bees in my garden and read that there may still be many undescribed bee species in Australia. In the last few years I have observed native bees around Sydney and other regions, and have been able to photograph a few of them. I use these photographs in talks to groups of wildlife enthusiasts and conservation societies.

Research Interests

Apoidea (which includes bees and some wasps)

I have a very broad and general interest in the flower-visiting patterns of bees in the Sydney area and in how the populations of different species fluctuate from year to year, including recovery after fires.

At a more detailed level, I have three areas of interest:

The biology of particular bee species with relatively specialised flower-visiting behaviour.
The taxonomy of the bee genus Amegilla, which includes Blue-banded and Teddybear bees.
The taxonomy of the wasp genus Labium, members of which are parasites of ground-nesting bees. At present, little is known about which bees are exploited by particular species of Labium or what effect the wasps have on bee populations.

Images

Native bee, Hylaeus sp. Photo: M Batley.

Native bee, Megachile mystaceana, female. Photo: M Batley.

Contact Details

phone: (+612) 9320 6221

Publications