DIY BEE B&B

HOW TO BUILD NATIVE BEE HOTELS THAT WILL ATTRACT BEES TO YOUR GARDEN AND HELP INCREASE THEIR POPULATIONS

Words Angelo Eliades

The presence of bees buzzing away industriously as they gather nectar and pollen really brings a flowering garden to life! The bees most commonly seen in our gardens are European honeybees (Apis mellifera) that were introduced to Australia in 1822 to produce honey — though they sometimes go wild and build nests in bushlands. There are however more than 1500 species of native bees in Australia, highly diverse in appearance and size and ranging from 2mm to 24mm. Native bees can be divided into three types: solitary bees, semi-social bees and social bees. Most native bees are solitary or semi-social, although there are around 14 species of native social bees, most of them stingless, that form colonies and produce some honey. The majority of Australian native bees are solitary and usually nest in burrows…

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Good Organic Gardening (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue #14.5

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