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Telopea Vol. 6(4): 1996 
After removing its body from the floral tube the bee reversed its position and clasped 
the single anther fused to the tepal it had first depressed. The bee then inserted the 
clawed tip of the tarsus of each foreleg into the apices of each longitudinal slit on 
opposite lobes of the same anther. Tire bee depressed its body forcing each pair of claws 
to slide down the full length of each longitudinal slit until they reached the base. The 
two claws that tip each tarsus expanded, raking pollen from the interior of each slit. The 
bee then retracted each tarsus (the claws now filled with pollen) and transferred the 
pollen to the second pair of legs. The second pair then transferred the pollen to the 
scopal hairs on the liind legs and ventral portion of the abdomen (cf. Maynard 1995). 
In the majority of cases observed, after the bee collected pollen from one anther it 
would repeat the same nectar and pollen foraging behaviour by selecting a second. 
Fig. 6. Female of Leioproctus fUamentosa. A, whole insect showing scopal bmshes on hind 
legs (scale = 2.5 mm); B, head in lateral and frontal views, showing elongated mouthparts 
(scale = 1 mm). 
