Who are our native bees ?

Who are our native bees?

Watch the video and follow a European honey bee as it searches for suitable flowers loaded with pollen. Bees can fly long distances of up to 12km. As this bee flies, it sees some Australian native bees. Can you spot them as well?

By following its journey, you will get to observe the world as bees do with their 5 eyes. See flowers producing scent to attract bees to their pollen stores. Bees can smell flowers from 2 km away. I wonder how bees smell flowers if they do not have a nose?

The native bees below are found in Victoria. Click on each card to flip it and reveal their names and some interesting facts.

Blue Banded Bee

Species: Amegilla Notomegilla & Amegilla Zonamegilla

8 – 14 mm long
Solitary bee lives alone. Females may build burrows close to one another.
Builds burrows in clay or mudbricks as a nest
Buzz pollinator
Interesting fact: Not all have blue bands - some have white, cream, or even no bands !
Native plant it visits:
Lavender and Sage (Salvia officinalis), Native Rosemary (Westringia fruticosa).
Crops it can pollinate for us: tomatoes, blueberries, kiwi fruit, eggplants and chilies.

Teddy bear bee

Species: Amegilla Asarapoda & Amegilla dawsoni

7 – 20 mm long
Solitary bee lives alone. Females may build burrows close to one another.
Builds a burrow in soil as a nest and make waterproof cells to lay eggs
Buzz pollinator
Native plant it visits:
Native Rosemary (Westringia fruticosa)
Crops it can pollinate for us: tomatoes, blueberries, kiwi fruit, eggplants and chilies

Neon Cuckoo bee

Species: Thyreus nitidulus

10 – 13 mm long
Solitary parasitic bee
Lays her eggs in the burrows made by other native bees. These eggs hatch early so the larvae get to eat all of the pollen stored in the nest

Leaf cutter bee

Species: Megachile Eutricharaea

5 – 14 mm in length
Solitary bee lives alone
Females make a nest in the soil, a hollow plant stalk, or a cavity in wood. They line their nest with discs they cut from leaves.
Interesting Fact: Only the female bees cut leaves , also there are some Megachile that don't cut leaves
Crops it can pollinate:
visit many crops including alfalfa, blueberries, cherries, almonds, onions, carrots and dozens of different wildflowers

Share what you have learned

You could do this in a variety of different ways, some are suggested below:

Observation Journals: Maintain detailed observation journals to document your findings on native bee behaviors and interactions with local flora.
Photography: Capture the beauty of native bees in action through photography. Share your striking images with fellow enthusiasts.
Videography: Create informative videos showcasing your observations of native bees in their natural habitats.
Field Guides: Create field guides based on your observations to help others identify and learn about native bee species in your region.

Observing your local native bees

You might have noticed European honey bees buzzing around flowers in gardens. If you observe gardens closely, you will start to see other bees visiting the flowers. In Australia there are more than one thousand native bees. They play an important role in pollinating Australian native plants.

There are many ways to collect data about bees.

You can photograph them and use your phone or a nature app such as iNaturalist to identify them. Always be sure to record where you took the photo and the date it was taken.

You can make written observations and draw what you see. A good way to organise your observations is to use the A.E.I.O.U tool. If you use this tool, the stakeholders are the bee and the flower.

Who are our native bees ?