Avery
2nd January 2011, 11:21 PM
Following on from some talk in another thread, I decide to start this one.
Australian native bees come in many shapes and sizes.
There are the solitary bees. They live in tunnels in the earth, reeds, or holes in your brickwork or woodwork. There are Carpenter bees, Teddy Bear bees, Blue Banded bees and others . There is over 1000 species of solitary bees.
Solitary bees probably all have a sting. If they produce honey, it is in very small quantities.
Some of them are quite spectacular and I would love to see some photos .
We also have 10 species of social bees in Australia. These are bees that live in large groups in hives. All of these bees are STINGLESS, although they do have little pincers of the front end and do bite if provoked.
Perhaps the most common of these is Trigona Carbonaria. These guys are about 3 - 5 mm long and basically black. They build hives in holes in trees, holes in rocks or anywhere they can find a suitable cavity. They prefer warm to cold and so are not generally found south of the Victorian border. They are not very good at maintaining hive temperature, so artificial hives have to be insulated against heat and cold.
It is quite easy to build a suitable box and transplant an existing hive or split one into two (or more).
They do produce honey, but most of this is needed to sustain the hive. A really strong hive might produce 500gms of harvest honey in a year. Mind you, it is well worthwhile waiting for because it is absolutely delicious. There are keepers in Qld. that produce enough to sell. It is expensive, but worth every cent. I am just about to split my two hives and will probably be able to get maybe 200gm of honey, but next year I will have four hives and maybe more honey.
There are some native flowers that can only be pollinated by native bees.
If you want to know more about these delightful little creatures, go ahead and ask.
There is also a goodly amount of information via a Google search
European honey bees
These are the ones we all know. The yellow and black ones that we see every day.
These guys are absolutely essential for the pollination of food crops all over this country, Our farmers cannot survive without them.
However, they escape their man made hives , become feral and find homes in tree hollows, rock hollows etc, that should be available to birds,possums, reptiles and native bees. Your local council should have a an eradication plan for feral bees. If you find a feral bee infestation you should call your local council and ask for it to be removed.
Australian native bees come in many shapes and sizes.
There are the solitary bees. They live in tunnels in the earth, reeds, or holes in your brickwork or woodwork. There are Carpenter bees, Teddy Bear bees, Blue Banded bees and others . There is over 1000 species of solitary bees.
Solitary bees probably all have a sting. If they produce honey, it is in very small quantities.
Some of them are quite spectacular and I would love to see some photos .
We also have 10 species of social bees in Australia. These are bees that live in large groups in hives. All of these bees are STINGLESS, although they do have little pincers of the front end and do bite if provoked.
Perhaps the most common of these is Trigona Carbonaria. These guys are about 3 - 5 mm long and basically black. They build hives in holes in trees, holes in rocks or anywhere they can find a suitable cavity. They prefer warm to cold and so are not generally found south of the Victorian border. They are not very good at maintaining hive temperature, so artificial hives have to be insulated against heat and cold.
It is quite easy to build a suitable box and transplant an existing hive or split one into two (or more).
They do produce honey, but most of this is needed to sustain the hive. A really strong hive might produce 500gms of harvest honey in a year. Mind you, it is well worthwhile waiting for because it is absolutely delicious. There are keepers in Qld. that produce enough to sell. It is expensive, but worth every cent. I am just about to split my two hives and will probably be able to get maybe 200gm of honey, but next year I will have four hives and maybe more honey.
There are some native flowers that can only be pollinated by native bees.
If you want to know more about these delightful little creatures, go ahead and ask.
There is also a goodly amount of information via a Google search
European honey bees
These are the ones we all know. The yellow and black ones that we see every day.
These guys are absolutely essential for the pollination of food crops all over this country, Our farmers cannot survive without them.
However, they escape their man made hives , become feral and find homes in tree hollows, rock hollows etc, that should be available to birds,possums, reptiles and native bees. Your local council should have a an eradication plan for feral bees. If you find a feral bee infestation you should call your local council and ask for it to be removed.