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corbiculae of the hind legs. All other female bees that carried significant loads of 
Persoonia pollen were observed to transfer pollen to scopal hairs on the hind legs 
and/or ventral hairs at the base of the abdomen (Fig. 3). 
Male Leioproctus species {Cladocerapis and Filiglossa) also carried loads of Persoonia 
pollen on their bodies (Table 7). Pollen was deposited randomly on the head and 
thorax since males lack scopae and were never observed foraging actively on the 
anthers (see below). With the exception of males of Leioproctus raymenti, females of 
four Leioproctus species carried proportionately heavier loads of Persoonia pollen. 
Almost 80% of all insects captured on the flowers of Persoonia species carried 
significant loads of Persoonia pollen. The number of insects carrying pure loads of 
Persoonia pollen was 55% higher than the number of insects caught carrying Persoonia 
pollen mixed with the pollen of one, or more, co-blooming taxa (Table 5). Analyses 
of 142 bees carrying mixed loads showed that seven pollen types, other than Persoonia, 
could be recognised (Fig. 4, 5; Table 9). Acacia polyads were the only taxa that could 
be recognised as coming from flowers lacking functional floral nectaries (Bernhardt 
1989). Of these seven recognisable types the pollen of Myrtaceae was most often 
found on bees carrying mixed loads (Table 9). Mixed loads of pollen were common 
on female Leioproctus (Cladocerapis) species although this subgenus has been regarded 
as oligolectic (Maynard 1992 and 1994). 
Of the 424 bees found to carry Persoonia pollen, 4.7% were detected carrying the 
pollen of more than one Persoonia species in the same pollen load. Specifically, each 
bee recorded as carrying more than one Persoonia species carried more than 25 grains 
of each Persoonia species. At the two sites in which interspecific foraging by bees was 
recorded, 28% of the bees examined carried the pollen of more than one Persoonia 
species (Table 8). 
Foraging behaviour and contact with the stigma 
The mode of nectar collection by different bee taxa correlated with body lengths. 
Both bees and wasps with bodies greater than 6 mm long first landed on the anthers 
or tepal apices. The insect then depressed one or two tepals and inserted its head 
and thorax down the floral tube to probe within the nectar chamber (Table 6). 
Depression of the tepals could occur in two ways. In most cases the bee or wasp 
depressed the tepal while its head faced the style. In fewer cases we observed that 
the insect would cling to the style or anthers with its legs and then push its head up 
under the tepal so its eyes faced the tepal and not the style. This second mode of 
entering the floral tube was observed most often when bees foraged on Persoonia 
species with nodding flowers. 
Bees less than 6 mm long did not or could not depress the tepals (Table 6). Homalictus 
species, Hylaeus species and Trigona carbonaria were observed to collect pollen after 
grasping individual anthers. They were not observed to either enter the floral tube or 
attempt to rob nectar by puncturing the base of the nectar chamber. These bees were so 
small that they did not usually contact the Persoonia stigma while foraging for pollen. 
Leioproctus species in subgenus Filiglossa have much elongated maxillary and labial 
palps with long, stiff, segmented hairs ornamenting the apices of the maxillary 
galeae (Fig. 6; Maynard 1994). Females were observed to forage actively on anthers 
for pollen, retaining grains in their scopal hairs. Females were also observed inserting 
their filiform mouthparts between tepals at the apex of the 'closed' floral tube (cf. 
Maynard 1995). Females were not observed to contact the stigmas regularly while 
'fishing for nectar' in this manner as the bee's body was usually shorter than the 
protruding tip of the anthers. Males observed foraging on P. silvatica inserted their 
