Summary All about Bees Why are bees under threat? About native bees Bee Anatomy Attracting bees to your garden Making habitats for bees • Urbanisation removes bees’ natural habitat • Urbanisation increases “flowerless Australia is home to over 1,600 native bee Bee bodies are comprised of a head, thorax and The best way to attract bees to your garden is As we clear land to build houses or shopping landscapes” species, with around 200 of them found in the abdomen. They have six legs and two pairs of wings. to have large patches of flowers. Many bees, centres, we remove natural bee habitat. We can They have two antennae used to touch and “smell”, especially Blue Banded and Teddy Bear, are • Pesticides contaminate bees’ food sources Greater Western Sydney (GWS) region. however provide additional nesting habitats that mandibles or jaws used for biting, working pollen or attracted to blue and purple flowers. are similar to their natural ones. Most native bees are solitary bees, meaning they wax and two compound eyes and three simple eyes. How can we help improve the health of The greater variety of flower you can provide, the complete their life cycle alone, unlike the introduced greater diversity of bee you will attract. our bees? Different bees like different habitats. Resin and social honey bee. Solitary native bees do not • Conserve existing bee habitat Leaf-cutter Bees will nest in drilled hardwood. produce honey or live in large colonies; although Plants that are known to attract bees include: Masked and Reed Bees nest in bundles of lantana • Provide habitat for bees there are a few social native bees that store pollen • Native flowering plants like lambertia and and bamboo. Blue Banded Bees can also be • Plant bee friendly flowers and make honey to survive over winter. grevillia encouraged into rammed earth nests. • Reduce / stop pesticide use • Native flowering shrubs like water gum, wattle, Native bees come in a range of colours and are sized bottle brush, tea tree, westringia and native When setting up your solitary bee nests place How can we learn more? from 2 to 24 mm in length. Some have thick furry peas hairs while others are smooth and shiny. it somewhere you can watch the activity safely. • Visit the Facebook pages • Exotic herbs like parsley, coriander, celery, Your nest should be set up out of the way and www.facebook.com/BeesBusiness/ or Bees fennel (any of the Apiaceae family) somewhere protected against the weather. Once www.facebook.com/groups/beeawareo • Lavender, rosemary, salvia, hyssop (any of the you have your nest in place, never pick it up. ative Why are bees important? N fyournativebees/ Lamiaceae family) • Make habitats to observe bees in your When you are watching your bees, DO NOT alian r We need pollinators, like bees, to help us grow • Exotic flowering plants like hebe garden and daisies stand in the flight-path of exiting and entering Aust our food and flowers. Of the 352,000 flowering • Observe your garden flowers for bee bees, instead you should stand to the side of the plants and crops nearly 90% rely on pollinators nest. These bees CAN sting so be careful. activity Image from Marc Newman Make sure you plant a variety of different species so for reproduction. Australian native bees are able Solitary bees are not aggressive. to pollinate many fruits and vegetables, including that there are flowers available all year round. To find out more please visit these websites tomatoes, watermelon, passion fruits, strawberries Pollen collection • www.beesbusiness.com.au and mangoes. Australian • www.aussiebee.com.au Both social and solitary bees collect pollen to feed Sadly, our bee populations are declining. As we their young. Designer: Brittany Hardiman | Photographs: Bees Business clear land for urban development, remove plants Special thanks to Dr Michael Batley, Australian Museum and use pesticides, we are increasing the Female solitary bees carry pollen in their scopa; a Copyright © 2014 Native Bees environmental pressures on our bee populations, collection of branched hairs which may be on the which may lead to population losses. under belly or on the hind legs. Some bees swallow Acknowledgement: Schools Engagement and the Office of Learn more, up close the pollen they collect, to transport it back to the Sustainability, University of Western Sydney. nest. By understanding more about our native and exotic Disclaimer: Bees Business and the University of Western bees we can help conserve their populations, thus Sydney are not responsible for, and expressly disclaim supporting ecosystem biodiversity and food all liability for, damages of any kind arising from the use, security. reference to or reliance upon information contained in this brochure. Example of a cottage garden. Image from Elizabeth Richmond Examples of man-made solitary bee nests Resin Bees Reed Bees Masked Bees Leaf-cutter Bees Blue Banded & Teddy Bear Bees Other Native & Exotic Bees Common Name: Black Resin Bee Common Name: Reed Bee Common Name: Masked Bee Common Name: Leaf-cutter Bee Common Name: Blue Banded Bee Australian Native Stingless Bees Size: Approximately 1 - 1.3 centimetres in length Size: Approximately 0.3 - 0.8 centimetres in length Size: Approximately 0.4 - 1.2 centimetres in length Size: Approximately 1.2 centimetres in length Size: Approximately 1.5 centimetres in length The native stingless bee (Tetragonula carbonaria) Features: A large, strong mandible (jaw) used to Features: A shiny black head and thorax with Features: Sparsely haired with dark heads and Features: A large, strong mandible (jaw) used to cut Features: Blue stripes on abdomen. The female has is the only social native bee found in the GWS collect plant resins to build their nests. a distinctive chestnut-coloured, wedge-shaped brightly coloured facial markings, some have brightly discs of soft plant leaves to form a tubeular nest. Half dark facial markings and tibial scopa. region. Colonies nest in large tree cavities where abdomen. Females often have a T-shaped, yellow Species in GWS: Megachile punctata, Megachile marked bodies. the males of the Megachile species have expanded they store pollen and honey. These black bees mark on the face and a tibial scopa. forelegs which are flattened and often have long, aurifrons and Megachile deanii. Species in GWS: Amphylaeus morosus and Hylaeus can be seen hovering near nectar-producing Exoneura sp. sleek hairs used in part of the bees’ mating ritual. flowers of all types. Nesting habitat: Old borer holes (made by Species in GWS: nubilosus. insects) in tree trucks. Nesting habitat: Stems of woody weed lantana, Nesting habitat: Nests are constructed in small Nesting habitat: Stems of tristania, acacia and coral tree (Erythrina sp.), grass tree spikes cavities under bark or in rock crevices. Man-made nesting habitat: Resin bees will nest grass tree spikes (Xanthorrhoea). European Honey Bee (Xanthorrhoea), tree fern fronds and other hollow Man-made nesting habitat: Leaf-cutter bees will in drilled hardwood blocks. Man-made nesting habitat: Masked bees will Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are an introduced stemmed plants. nest in large bamboo canes. nest in bamboo canes and small holes drilled in bee species. They are extremely important for Man-made nesting habitat: Reed bees will nest in hardwood. food production, pollinating of large scale crops. small holes drilled into dried Lantana stems. It is becoming more apparent that our native bees Amegilla pulchra play an important part in pollinating native and exotic plant species. Common Name: Teddy Bear Bee Size: Approximately 1.5 centimetres in length Features: Covered in orange-brown hairs. The female has dark facial markings and tibial scopa. Megachile punctata Megachile serricauda Amphylaeus morosus Image from Marc Newman Exoneura sp. Tetragonula carbonaria foraging beside European honey bees African Carder Bee Amegilla bombiformis The Carder bee (Afranthidium repetitum) is an introduced bee species and are well established Nesting habitat: Ground burrows. in the GWS region. Carder bees have distinctive Megachile aurifrons Man-made nesting habitat: Both the Blue Banded Image from Marc Newman bright, white bands on the abdomen. These Megachile maculariformis and Teddy Bear bees can be encouraged to nest in bees are somewhat territorial and can be seen Hylaeus nubilosus artificial, rammed-earth nests. chasing other bees away from the flowers they Exoneura sp. are foraging on. .