All winter long, on warm sunny days I have been able to step into my garden and hear the low humming from the bees in my Eucalypts, at times the noise has been breath takingingly loud. It has been a wonderful reminder on another one of the roles that the indigenous trees on my block play. I have seven mature Eucalyptus on my block, all were probably here before the house was built, they are Eucalyptus paniculata and longifolia. 

I have been finding these amazing honey combs around the garden, just literally from falling out of the trees, I am pretty sure that this winter in particular they have perhaps flowered more than usual and so the native bees having been having a larger than normal feast.

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I am making plans to plant more Eucalyptus species in my garden but smaller Mallee styles, such as Eucalyptus obstans and Eucalyptus luehmanniana, hopefully they will bring the native bees down from the canopy into the understory of my garden. Why not join me and plant some more Eucalypts….don’t be shy they come in so many sizes!

Comments

2 responses to “Native Bees”

  1. Hi Kath, I really enjoy reading your posts they are helpful and informative, there is such a lack of information containing first hand experience with Aust native plants on the web, featuring current information and images of what plants look like. Your blog is an invaluable reference source. Keep up the great work.
    Best Wishes
    K.

  2. Teale Britstra

    Hey again,

    This is most likely a native Paper Wasp nest. While there are 1500+ species of native bee, most are solitary. The few social bee species we have are generally of the small, stingless variety, which nest in cavities like tree hollows or similar. Nevertheless, I think that wasps are very under-rated! They feed on nectar and pollinate plants, just like bees do. The main difference is that instead of feeding their young pollen, they use prey like caterpillars or spiders. 🙂

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