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How to Recycle Australian Native Bees

How to Recycle Australian Native Bees

Updated 31 December 2019 03:16 PM

Native bee nests in Australia are often destroyed by accident during landscaping, clearing or gardening


Many people are not even aware of their existence as we are all so used to the concept of a bee being a European bumble bee. Australian native bees range in size, colour and appearance, but the ones that form colonies, the stingless bee varieties on the east coast of Australia, look pretty much like a fly. It is extremely important to keep native bees alive as their are the real bee pollinators in Australia. European bees are only responsible for 5% of pollination. 

You will often find colonies in old hollow tree trunks and underground burrows. It is common to find colonies in old branches that have fallen from trees. Most Australian colonising bees are stingless, but it is still important to call a specialist bee remover if you can. 



Pic: BowerBird
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Science Notes

There are around 1500 types of Australian native bees.

Of these, only 10 actually form hives. The rest are solitary and the female bee mates and builds a nest for her eggs.

Native Australian bees come in a very broad range of colours and sizes, some as little as 2mm ranging to about 24mm. Some are quite furry and others quite shiny. 

Related Tip
Native bees pollinate far more plants than Europeans.

They love angophoras, eucalyptus, brachyschomes, callistemon, melaleucas, scaevolas, grevilleas, tea trees, hibbertias and westringias.

 

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