Foraging bee
Asian honey bee verses European honey bee
When venturing outside it is
common to see invertebrates zooming this way and that in search of pollen and
nectar from their favorite flowers. There are many differences, both behavioral
and physical that separate the European honey bee from the Asian honey bee.
Behavioral features
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Native Australian Bees
Did you know that Australia has over 1,500 species of native bees! Read through Table 1 for some interesting facts on our native bees. Table 1: Features to identify some of Australia’s native bees Name Description Stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria Australia has its own honey bee commonly referred to as the stingless bee (Image 5) or little black bush bee (DAFF 2013d). The small black Stingless bee are a tiny 3 to 5mm in length and usually nest in trunks of trees or even in wall cavities. Green carpenter bee (Xylocopa, formerly in genus Lestis) The distinctive coloring of the glossy metallic green of the Green carpenter bee is pictured above (Image 6). Ranging in sizes up to 17mm long, the Green carpenter bee burrows nests in flower stalks of the grass trees (Xanthorrhoea) or in other soft timbers (Aussie bee 2013). Blue banded bee (Amegilla) The Blue banned bee is another large native to Australia ranging from 8 to 13mm in length (Aussie bee 2013). They have bright blue or whitish bands across their abdomen and can be found burrowing nests in the ground or in mud brick and soft mortar houses, refer to Image 7 (Aussie bee 2013). For more information visit the ‘Aussie Bee’ website (see link below) where there is a whole community of native bee enthusiasts with heaps more information just waiting for you to explore! http://www.aussiebee.com.au/ |