Sunday 18 November 2012

Busy Bees

In the garden at the western end of the rainforest area is a slim stump. If you look carefully at the little holes about two-thirds up you will see that one is occupied by tiny bees. Inside will be a nest with many individuals, perhaps hundreds.

Stingless bee stump
They are a species of native stingless bee, Trigona carbonaria or Sugarbag Bee. As the scientific name, carbonaria, suggests they are very black unlike the European Honey Bee. The Trigona species are only found in the tropics and subtropics. 

There are over 1500 species of native bees in Australia. Only about a dozen species are stingless. These are social bees living in nests of hundreds of individuals. Female Solitary bees can sting but Australian bees are not aggressive.

Native bees at their nest entrance
As pollinators these small insects are incredibly important. Many of our native plants need the smaller insects for pollination. The Sugarbag Bee is known to pollinate King Orchids and other Dendrobium spp., cycads, Dianella sp, some wattles, grevilleas, wonga vines and more.

In the last twenty years they've become more important as effective pollinators for fruit and nut crops. Avocado and macadamia benefit from the native bee. Orchardists have found that the size of the crop increases. Other commercial crops also benefit from our little bees; strawberries, watermelons, cucumbers and tomatoes are just a few. In fact there are experiments in Japan for using Trigona carbonaria in commercial glasshouses.

The Sugarbag Bee has a very different hive or nest from the European Honey Bee. They don't have hexagonal cells where the larvae are fed by the workers. 
T. carbonaria nest in its bee box
Instead they have a spiral structure of brood cells. The egg is laid with nectar and pollen in one cell and then sealed. In the photo above you can see the spiral of brood cells with the larger nectar and pollen cells around the edges.

For more information try these two websites,

also this magazine article,

Friday 9 November 2012

The little things in life - Budgeroo

Budgeroo, Lysicarpus angustifolius in flower
This tree is flowering in the park, Budgeroo, Lysicarpus angustifolius. From the photo you can see it is beside the Stan Kuhl Way. You'll find it between the Dry Rainforest Area and the Brachychiton collection. Some years it produces just a little flower and masses of flower in others. This year it is masses. Little is known about it's pollination but by the look of one of the close-ups, insects may have something to do with it. 

It grows naturally on slopes and crests of sandstone ridges, often on very rocky country. You can see how easily it takes to the Highfields soil.

The timber is used for fence posts and wood turning and historically it was used for general construction. It is termite resistant and doesn't burn readily so fence posts may last for decades. Aborigines of the sandstone ranges used the bark for burial cylinders.
Masses of bud ready to flower.
Close up of the pretty little flower.

Insects foraging in the flowers.
The funny blue blur is a damselfly which just flew in
as I was taking the picture.

 Powderpuff Lillypilly, Syzygium wilsonii

Remember I wrote about the colour of the new foliage and buds of this lillypilly last month? It is flowering now and what a luscious display. Well worth a visit if you live close by.
Powderpuff Lillypilly, Syzygium wilsonii
It is a plant of the northern rainforests of Queensland. The fruit is decorative too and attracts birds. With foliage, flower and fruit colouring the shrub for much of the year, it would be a beautiful addition to any garden.   If you want to know more about growing this shrub, click here.