The Australian Native Bee Book

The Australian Native Bee Book
Author: Tim Heard
Publisher:
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2015-09-30
Genre: Bees
ISBN: 9780646939971

This book describes native bees generally and provides a complete guide to keeping Australian native stingless bees. It is richly illustrated with over 500 photos, drawings and charts to increase accessibility and aid learning. It is written by an expert who has spent his lifetime intimately engaged with these unique creatures. Keeping native stingless bees is a hot topic in Australia for commercial, environmental and recreational reasons. You can do something about the decline of pollinators by conserving native bees. Whether you keep a hive or two in your suburban garden, or want to use multiple hives on a commercial farm, this friendly guide has you covered. Bee biology, behaviour, nesting, social life and foraging; How to build your own native bee hive; How to transfer a bee colony to a hive box and propagate hives; All about sugarbag honey, including how to extract it from hives; Managing your hive; Identifying and dealing with pests; Using stingless bees for pollination - from small gardens to commercial crops; A complete list of Australia's stingless bee species, how to identify them, their characteristics, where they occur, and recommended hives; A readable summary of the latest research on native bees.

A Guide to Native Bees of Australia

A Guide to Native Bees of Australia
Author: Terry Houston
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2018-08-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1486304087

Bees are often thought of as yellow and black striped insects that live in hives and produce honey. However, Australia’s abundant native bees are incredibly diverse in their appearance and habits. Some are yellow and black but others have blue stripes, are iridescent green or wasp-like. Some are social but most are solitary. Some do build nests with wax but others use silk or plant material, burrow in soil or use holes in wood and even gumnuts! A Guide to Native Bees of Australia provides a detailed introduction to the estimated 2000 species of Australian bees. Illustrated with stunning photographs, it describes the form and function of bees, their life-cycle stages, nest architecture, sociality and relationships with plants. It also contains systematic accounts of the five families and 58 genera of Australian bees. Photomicrographs of morphological characters and identification keys allow identification of bees to genus level. Natural history enthusiasts, professional and amateur entomologists and beekeepers will find this an essential guide.

Australian Stingless Bees

Australian Stingless Bees
Author: John Douglas Klumpp
Publisher: Earthling Enterprises Pty Limited
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2007
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780975713815

Keeping native Australian stingless social bees.

Stingless Bees

Stingless Bees
Author: Christoph Grüter
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 394
Release: 2020-12-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030600904

Stingless bees (Meliponini) are the largest and most diverse group of social bees, yet their largely tropical distribution means that they are less studied than their relatives, the bumble bees and honey bees. Stingless bees produce honey and collect pollen from tens of thousands of tropical plant species and, in the process, provide critical pollination services in the tropics. Like many other insects, they are struggling with new human-made challenges like habitat destruction, climate change and new diseases. This book provides an overview of stingless bee biology, with chapters on the evolutionary history, nesting biology, colony organisation and division of labour of stingless bees. In addition, it explores their defence strategies, foraging ecology, and varied communication methods. Accordingly, the book offers an accessible introduction and reference guide for students, researchers and laypeople interested in the biology of bees.

Pot-Honey

Pot-Honey
Author: Patricia Vit
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 655
Release: 2013-01-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 146144960X

The stingless bees are one of the most diverse, attractive, fascinating, conspicuous and useful of all the insect groups of the tropical world. This is a formidable and contentious claim but I believe it can be backed up. They are fifty times more species rich than the honey bees, the other tribe of highly eusocial bees. They are ubiquitous in the tropics and thrive in tropical cities. In rural areas, they nest in a diversity of sites and are found on the flowers of a broad diversity of crop plants. Their role in natural systems is barely studied but they almost certainly deserve that hallowed title of keystone species. They are popular with the general public and are greatly appreciated in zoos and gardens. The chapters of this book provide abundant further evidence of the ecological and economic importance of stingless bees.

Bee Detectives

Bee Detectives
Author: Brenna Quinlan
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2021-04
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 148631340X

When Olivia and Hamish see a smoky haze coming from their local park, they're ready to spring into action! But it's not a fire – it's a nest of Australian stingless bees that needs their help. Join Olivia and Hamish as they learn about the bees in our backyards. From Blue-banded and Teddy Bear to Carpenter and Leaf-cutter bees, our two budding Bee Detectives discover how our native bees live, what they like to eat and the important work they do to pollinate plants. Explore the wonders of Australia's native bees – and be inspired to become a Bee Detective, too. It's a real buzz!

Bees of Australia

Bees of Australia
Author: James Dorey
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2018-10-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1486308511

Bees are the darlings of the insect world. It is a joy to see these insects hard at work, peacefully buzzing from flower to flower. Many people recognise the worth of bees, as well as that they face multiple threats. But very few know about the diversity and importance of our native bee species. There are an estimated 2000 to 3000 bee species in Australia, yet we know very little about the vast majority of these and there are many that are yet to be described. Bees of Australia introduces some of our incredible native bees, many of which, if you look closely, can be found in your own garden. Open this book wherever you like or read it from cover to cover. The combination of photography and contributions from some of Australia’s leading bee researchers allows anyone to become enthralled by our native bees. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself looking closer at every flower that you pass in search of our wonderful native bees.

The Australian Beekeeping Manual

The Australian Beekeeping Manual
Author: Robert Owen
Publisher: Exisle Publishing
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2020-11
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1775594734

The Australian Beekeeping Manual is the most comprehensive reference for both novice and experienced beekeepers in Australia. The accessible yet detailed text, supported by over 350 full-colour photographs and illustrations, covers all the key areas, including the beekeeping equipment needed, how to obtain bees, where to locate them in the garden, and the basics of colony management. There are also in-depth chapters on the lifecycle of the honey bee, extracting honey, creating a bee-friendly garden, entering honey in competitions, pests and diseases, native bees, and rearing queens. A feature of this 2nd edition is the addition of a new chapter on the Flow Hive. The result is an invaluable beekeeping resource that will be referred to time and again, and which can be taken out to the hive for use as an immediate step-by-step guide or read at leisure.

Keeping Australian Native Stingless Bees

Keeping Australian Native Stingless Bees
Author: Greg Coonan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 72
Release: 2020-11-20
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9781912271771

Native stingless bees are one of nature's most wonderful gifts. Our passion is native beekeeping, and we enjoy making it easy for others to gain the knowledge and confidence to look after and be enriched by these fabulous little creatures. This is the sole purpose for preparing this guide. Based on my own years of experience and those of my friends I have prepared this simple guide for first time hive owners, and for those who want to progress into native beekeeping. Our methods are based around those so rigorously researched, tested and wonderfully presented by Tim Heard in his book 'The Australian Native Bee Book'. This easy to read book contains a wealth of knowledge, and should be studied by anyone wishing to progress from owning a hive to native beekeeping, undertaking such practices as honey harvesting and hive propagation. The more you read and understand about the biology of native bees and in particular native stingless bees, the better prepared you will be to become a native beekeeper. As with any profession or trade, once you become proficient, you make small adjustments to the practices and procedures to what works consistently well for you, while maintaining the core principles - it can be the same for native beekeeping. This guide sets out what works consistently well for us, and for which advice is constantly given to hundreds of now successful hive owners. It is divided into two parts. The first part sets out what you need to know to become a hive owner of Tetragonula carbonaria, Tetragonula hockingsi and Austroplebeia australis. The second part deals with more advanced native beekeeping practices for Tetragonula carbonaria and Tetragonula hockingsi.