Keeping Native Bees

The only native social bees in Australia are the small black stingless species of Trigona and Austroplebia. Nests in dead limbs are often revealed when trees are felled. They can easily be set up in a portable hive by transferring the comb and as many bees as possible into a wooden box with an entrance hole at the base. With a little ingenuity a hinged lid can be fitted so that the internal working of the hive can be inspected. These bees are perfectly harmless and such a hive could even be kept on a school verandah. The Australian Native Bee Research Centre Aussie Bee* website has links to suppliers of native bees and bee-keeping equipment.