Asaph Whelan Curator

Joined: Mar 13, 2022 Last Active: Mar 29, 2024 iNaturalist Australia

*If you have a bee species you would like added please send me a message or "@" tag me as daily checking all the subgenus in Leioproctus can get quite time-consuming :)

I am an avid junior naturalist based in South Australia looking to get into a career in either Taxonomy specialising in Australia’s Bees or Mellitology (both are quite underrepresented in Australia). I especially want to cover the Nullarbor Plain, central SA, and Kangaroo Island as relatively little has been covered there.

I try to ID all the bee observations in Australia by working day-by-day, but as there are so many going back to the beginning and working forward would probably take a year or so, so if you have a particular observation you want ID’d or you think I’ve missed (I check ID’s around 3-5 Adelaide time) feel free to “@“ tag me as I’m always looking for ways to skip homework. I am happy to respond to identifications to the best of my ability, however outside of Australia I will admit I have little idea. Any corrections regarding ID are most welcome.

Have side interests in native wasps, odonata, butterflies, jumping spiders, cicadas, mantises, and orchids.

I have a pet mantis (Archimantis sobrina) that I love to bits.

Please Note: I am a teenager and I don't know everything, don't take what I say as gospel. I can and do make mistakes, so please correct me when I'm wrong. I am always welcoming advice and new information.

I have some projects you may be interested in:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/native-bees-of-south-australia-4329a503-d826-4d07-b420-cbfbbc159329
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/native-bees-of-kangaroo-island
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/native-bees-of-western-australia
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/native-bees-of-the-nt
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/native-bees-of-queensland
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/native-bees-of-nsw
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/native-bees-of-the-act
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/native-bees-of-victoria
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/native-bees-of-tasmania-including-the-islands
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/south-australian-native-bees-using-bee-hotels
https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/australian-native-bees-using-bee-hotels

Profile picture is a male Amegilla chlorocyanea.

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