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Two new species of Leioproctus (L. aureofimbriatus from eastern New South Wales and L. haemodori from south-western Australia) are described. Both species have been found only when visiting Haemodorum species that have dull brown to black flowers that do not open. The bee species are closely related to each other, but their relationship with other Leioproctus species is unclear. Both have morphological features that would assist in foraging from the flowers, males have similar terminalia and antennae with the apical segment flattened and expanded. This last feature occurs also in the distantly related species Leioproctus (Ceratocolletes) antennatus resulting in occasional misidentifications. We have not created a new subgenus for these species because of difficulties with separating phylogenetically significant features from adaptive or adventitious ones. The mutualistic association between the bees and flowers has some novel characteristics and warrants further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bee responses to anthropogenic disturbances have received much recent attention in scientific literature. These studies typically involve 1–3 years of sampling along spatial gradients of disturbance, though occasionally greater temporal replication and/or longer time periods are used at the expense of spatial replication. We surveyed bees using a blue vane trap during spring, summer and autumn from 2008 to 2017 at one location in Canberra, Australia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the longest near‐continuous record of bee activity in the southern hemisphere. We use these data to describe the temporal dynamics of the bee community, which was characterised by high annual variability in overall abundance, richness and composition and a negative correlation between spring rainfall and bee activity. The phenologies of abundant species are also described. Our findings relate only to our study site but are similar to findings from other long‐term studies conducted in the northern hemisphere, which collectively present a picture of high natural variability in bee communities that must be considered when interpreting findings of bee responses to anthropogenic disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous orchid species are pollinated by food deception, where rewardless flowers attract foraging pollinators through the mimicry of other flowers or the use of non-specific floral signals. Here we investigate the pollination of Caladenia hildae , a member of a diverse Australian genus containing species pollinated by sexual deception, and species pollinated by food foraging pollinators. Despite eight bee species occurring at the main study site, only food foraging bees of a single species of Hylaeus (Colletidae) were observed to remove and deposit pollen of C. hildae. Spectral reflectance of C. hildae flowers differed from co-flowering rewarding species in terms of both the wavelengths of light reflected, and the pattern of colouration. As such, there was no evidence that C. hildae uses a pollination strategy based on floral mimicry. However, the attraction of only a single bee species at this site suggests that C. hildae may use a deceptive strategy that exploits sensory biases or behaviours that differ between Hylaeus sp. and the remainder of the bee community. While Hylaeus have been recorded visiting orchid flowers in several parts of the world, C. hildae may represent the first documented case of an orchid species specialised on pollination by Hylaeus bees. In food deceptive pollination systems, flowers attract foraging pollinators through the mimicry of other flowers or non-specific floral signals. In Caladenia hildae (Orchidaceae), pollination was by a single species of Hylaeus bee without mimicry of co-occurring plants. While Hylaeus have been recorded visiting orchid flowers, this may represent the first case of an orchid species specialised on Hylaeus for pollination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geographical range of pollinators is an important factor determining the distribution of plants with specialized pollinator interactions. Furthermore, pollinator availability can be critical for the success of conservation translocations of threatened flora with such interactions. Here, we investigated the pollination biology of the endangered orchid Caladenia versicolor, with the aim of improving management of wild populations and conservation translocations (artificial translocation for conservation). Using portable groups of cultivated plants to attract pollinators, we found that at natural sites C. versicolor is predominantly pollinated by food-foraging males of one species of bee, Leioproctus platycephalus (Colletidae), with only occasional visits from females or other bee species. This apparently high degree of specialization occurred despite the presence of a co-occurring bee community of > 20 species. Although previously thought to be nectarless, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of labellum secretions revealed that C. versicolor produces meagre quantities of sucrose on the upper surface of the labellum, on which some pollinators appeared to feed. Reproductive success was high in C. versicolor at both natural and translocated sites. Although C. versicolor now has a restricted range, L. platycephalus is found across a broad area of southern Australia. Thus, pollinator availability does not appear to have contributed to the rarity of C. versicolor, but the apparent reliance on L. platycephalus means that the availability of this species needs to be taken into account for conservation management and translocations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eleven new species of Euryglossula Michener are described: E. aeneoceps, E. elizabethae, E. eremophilae, E. incisa, E. kubinensis, E. laticeps, E. pallida, E. pinnulata, E. purpurea, E. scalaris and E. storeyi. The male of E. variepicta Exley is described for the first time. As now understood, the genus Euryglossula contains 18 species. New floral records and illustrated identification keys for both sexes of all species of the genus are provided. Variations in some diagnostic features of Euryglossula and the taxonomic placement of some species are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leioproctus glendae Batley, n. sp., is described on the basis of two males and one female from western Queensland. The female has an unusually narrow fore basitarsus and mandibular structure not seen in other members of the genus, while the male terminalia do not closely resemble those of any other species group. The new species provides further demonstration of the variety of forms contained in the genus Leioproctus, and is described in order to assist future revision of this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the fastest growing cause of disability worldwide. Current treatments for OA are severely limited and a large proportion of people with OA live in constant, debilitating pain. There is therefore an urgent need for novel treatments to reduce pain. Synovitis is highly prevalent in OA and is associated with pain. In inflammatory arthritides such as rheumatoid arthritis, methotrexate (MTX) is the gold standard treatment for synovitis and has a well-known, acceptable toxicity profile. We propose that using MTX to treat patients with symptomatic knee OA will be a practical and safe treatment to reduce synovitis and, consequently, pain. Methods/Design: Pain Reduction with Oral Methotrexate in knee Osteoarthritis, a pragmatic phase III trial of Treatment Effectiveness (PROMOTE) is an investigator-initiated, multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, pragmatic placebo-controlled trial. A total of 160 participants with symptomatic knee OA will be recruited across primary and secondary care sites in the United Kingdom and randomized on a 1:1 basis to active treatment or placebo, in addition to usual care, for 12 months. As is usual practice for MTX, dosing will be escalated over six weeks to 25 mg (or maximum tolerated dose) weekly for the remainder of the study. The primary endpoint is change in average knee pain during the past week (measured on an 11-point numerical rating scale) between baseline and six months. Secondary endpoints include other self-reported pain, function and quality-of-life measures. A health economics analysis will also be performed. A magnetic resonance imaging substudy will be conducted to provide an explanatory mechanism for associated symptom change by examining whether MTX reduces synovitis and whether this is related to symptom change. Linear and logistic regression will be used to compare changes between groups using univariable and multivariable modelling analyses. All analyses will be conducted on an intention-to-treat basis. Discussion: The PROMOTE trial is designed to examine whether MTX is an effective analgesic treatment for OA. The MRI substudy will address the relationship between synovitis and symptom change. This will potentially provide a much needed new treatment for knee OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bees are mobile organisms that seek food and nesting opportunities from a range of habitats. It is important to understand the way they move in agricultural landscapes if we are to conserve them and benefit from their activity as pollinators. We surveyed bees using directional flight interception (Malaise) traps over a 1-year period in two agricultural landscapes in south-east Queensland, Australia. We placed traps at the ecotone between crops and remnant vegetation to establish the pattern of movement between these habitats. Species richness in these landscapes (70) was high relative to that in comparable studies. Some bees were active year round, but most were caught in the period September to March. Across the whole assemblage there was a significant pattern where more species were detected leaving rather than entering remnant vegetation. The same bias was true for the number of individuals of the two most abundant species ( Homalictus urbanus and Apis mellifera). Species exclusively found in crops were smaller on average (and therefore have smaller foraging range) than their non-crop counterparts. Together, these patterns indicate that while bees are abundant in crop habitat, the remnant vegetation is important as the point of origin for bee movements, and the riparian remnant in particular is richer than the dry native remnant. Compositional similarity among samples was significantly explained by landscape but also movement direction (i.e. to or from the riparian remnant) because different species showed different patterns of response. The landscape with greater native vegetation cover supported more species in and around crops than the landscape with less native vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five new species of Leioproctus (Protomorpha) Rayment from western Queensland are described: Leioproctus crispus n.sp., L. gibber n.sp., L. gurneyi n.sp., L. latifrons n.sp. and L. nix n.sp. Females of all the new species, except L. nix, have specialized setae on the clypeus, frons or vertex of the head. A revised key to species is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endemic Australian bee genus Trichocolletes is revised. Forty species are recognised, including twenty-three new species: Trichocolletes aeratus, T. albigenae, T. avialis, T. brachytomus, T. brunilabrum, T. capillosus, T. centralis, T. dundasensis, T. fuscus, T. gelasinus, T. grandis, T. lacaris, T. leucogenys, T. luteorufus, T. macrognathus, T. micans, T. nitens, T. orientalis, T. platyprosopis, T. serotinus, T. simus, T. soror and T. tuberatus. Four new synonymies are proposed: Paracolletes marginatus lucidus Cockerell, 1929 = T. chrysostomus (Cockerell, 1929); T. daviesiae Rayment, 1931 = T. venustus (Smith, 1862); T. marginatulus Michener, 1965 = T. sericeus (Smith, 1862); T. nigroclypeatus Rayment, 1929 = T. venustus (Smith, 1862). TrichocolIetes rufus (Rayment, 1930) is moved to Leioproctus and T. rufopilosus (Rayment, 1935) to Anthoglossa. Descriptions are given for new species and redescriptions for species described before 1965, including first descriptions of males of T. aureotinctus (Cockerell), T. burnsi Michener, T. latifrons (Cockerell) and T. maximus (Cockerell) and the females of T. dowerinensis Rayment and T. rufibasis (Cockerell). Lectotypes are designated for Lamprocolletes venustus Smith and Anthoglossa plumata Smith. Keys to species are provided for both sexes, as are distribution maps and a summary of recorded floral visitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pan trapping is a standardised and commonly used method for collecting bees, but characteristics of the trap may influence its effectiveness or bias results. The effect of trap colour on the species and numbers caught has been studied in the Northern Hemisphere, but not in the Australian region. Australia has a unique bee fauna and colour preferences, if any, may differ from those found in other continents. In four separate surveys across a wide area of New South Wales, it was tested whether there was a difference in the abundance or species richness captured by yellow- and white-coloured pan traps. In total, 1267 bees were collected, comprising 66 species, 50 of which are in the family Halictidae. In all surveys, yellow pan traps collected a significantly larger number and greater diversity of bees. Eight of the thirteen most common species were observed significantly more frequently ( P < 0.01) in yellow pan traps, while the European honey bee ( Apis mellifera) was found in larger numbers in white traps. Our results demonstrate that differently coloured traps collect different components of the Australian bee fauna. Therefore, a variety of pan colours should be used when sampling overall bee biodiversity, but specific colours may be more effective when targeting certain groups or species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]