Australian native bees facts for kids

Australian Blue Banded Bee Amegilla spp.

Australian Sugarbag Bee Tetragonula carbonaria

Cloak and dagger cuckoo bee Thyreus spp.

The entry and exit spout of a native bee hive forming in the brickwork of a house in Darwin, Australia

Native bees forming a hive in the brickwork of a house in Darwin, Australia

Australian native bees are a group of bees that play a crucial role in the pollination of native plants. There are over 1,700 species of native bees in Australia, ranging from small solitary bees to the social stingless bees. Native bees are important for native ecosystems, providing pollination services to native plants, and hold value for Australian agriculture.

Sting or no sting, solitary vs social

Eleven species, of these social native bees, are in two genera, Tetragonula and Austroplebeia, and have no sting.

The stings of most Australian native species of bee will cause relatively minor discomfort to most people and are, "not as painful as those of a bull ant or paper wasp and last only a few minutes". However, they may sting more than once, and can cause an allergic reaction—increasing effect associated with repeated exposure to the antigen.

Honey

The native species of bee in Australia are not true honey bees, which are native to Europe, Asia and Africa. As a relatively primitive social species of native bees, they do not produce honey in great quantities. In cool-climate areas of Australia, all the honey the bees produce is needed by the swarm to live through winter.

Collecting honey from Australian native bee nests can cause many of the bees to drown in spilt honey. The honey is tangy in comparison with commercial honey taken from the European honey bee. The bees store their honey in "small resinous pots which look like bunches of grapes."

Pollination

The different species of Australian native bee gather pollens in different manner. Research is currently underway into use of Amegilla ("blue-banded bees") for use in pollinating hydroponic tomatoes, while some hydroponic growers are petitioning for introduction to the Australian mainland of the European bumblebee, Bombus terrestris—the island continent Australia has a history of sensationally poor outcomes from introduced species so the question of use of native vs introduced bees for pollination in Australia is controversial.

Western Australian native bees

Approximately 800 species of native bee occur in Western Australia, and many of them are endemic. Like all bees, native Australian bees are a type of specialized wasp that has evolved to vegetarianism. They feed on nectar, but it is the female native Australian bee that will thicken the nectar to make honey before taking it back to the nest. Australian bees are mostly solitary insects. A female bee will build a nest with the aid of "workers". Native Australian bees face many threats, particularly from parasitic insects such as some wasps, flies and beetles.

Species

• Amegilla asserta (Cockerell, 1926)
• Amegilla bombiformis (Teddy bear bee, Golden haired mortar bee) (Smith, 1854)
• Amegilla cingulata (Blue-banded bee) (Fabricius, 1775)
• Amegilla dawsoni (Dawson's burrowing bee) (Rayment, 1951)

Carpenter bees

• Xylocopa aerata (Golden-green carpenter bee, Green carpenter bee) (Smith, 1851)
• Xylocopa bombylans (Peacock carpenter bee) (Fabricius, 1775)

Reed bees

Genus Exoneura:

• Exoneura abstrusa (Cockerell, 1922)
• Exoneura albolineata (Cockerell, 1929)
• Exoneura albopilosa (Rayment, 1951)
• Exoneura robusta

Stingless bees

• Austroplebeia australis (Friese, 1898)
• Austroplebeia cassiae (Cockerell, 1910)
• Austroplebeia cincta (Mocsáry, 1898)
• Austroplebeia essingtoni (Cockerell, 1905)
• Austroplebeia magna (Dollin, Dollin, & Rasmussen, 2015)
• Tetragonula carbonaria (Sugarbag bee) (Smith, 1854)
• Tetragonula hockingsi (Cockerell, 1929)
• Tetragonula mellipes (Friese, 1898)