The Native Stingless Bees

Australia has eleven different species of these small loveable bees! At only 4mm long, some species are black with white fur on their faces and sides, and others are black with small yellow markings on their backs. Since these little bees are tropical, they thrive in warm areas of Australia, such as Queensland, northern areas of WA and NT, and north-eastern areas of NSW. They build resin enriched nests inside hollow trees but can also be found in hives in the gardens of hundreds of Aussies! The Tetragonula Carbonaria create cells in their hives that are are a single layer of hexagonal combs built in a distinctive spiral. The Austroplebeia species live in more arid areas and therefore build their nests a little differently using dead trees and the hollows of other plant life where they create a more random nest structure called a cluster brood.

Stingless Bee Pollination?

Our Aussie Native Stingless Bees are great at pollinating many fruits such as mangoes watermelons and lychees. They are also very important in pollinating our blueberries due to their small size the Stingless Natives can fit where the Honey Bees cannot.

Some fun facts 

• Stingless bees only produce small amounts of honey, totalling less than one kilogram per year so it is a special product, to be savoured and relished.
• Stingless Native Bees store their honey in resin pots within their hive structure. The resin they collect from the surrounding plants has microbial properties which enriches the honey within.

One of the newest Enamel pin releases at Bees Please MBD, you can find these little pollinator pins right here!

 Amazing pictures by Geoffrey Dutton