>Beautiful bees<
>What Is A Native Bee?
The New zealand natiAve bee is an insect. There are 28 species of the native bee and 27 of them only occur in New Zealand because one species is rarely found in Australia. They are very fast and tiny so you can hardly see them until they subtly land on a puaka/flower. If one passes you they are not aggressive and rarely sting so don't be scared of them. The New Zealand native bees carry pollen in their 2 back legs. The bees don’t make honey they just pollinate puaka/flowers so no jars of honey are coming from them. Their bodies are much smaller than the average honey bee. Unlike bumble bees they are shiny dark black and people often mistake them for wasps. These are very extraordinary bees but we are trying to stop them from going extinct.
>Where Do They Live?
Most people think they live in hives like other bees but they actually live in a different habitat. Uwha/Female bees make deep anaroa/tunnels in the trees, logs or the ground. The males bees don't make anaroa/tunnels and scientists don't know why yet. The native bees make their anaroa/tunnels very close together. The most common place to find the native bee is a pohutukawa tree it may be surprising but they love pohutukawa trees. These interesting critters have a very different idea of a home compared to the other bees but it seems to work for them better than a hive.
>What Do They Eat?
All the New Zealand native bee species eat the same things and very few things actually. They feed on puaka/flowers but don't produce honey so they only eat nectar and pollen which is an everyday meal for them. They also fly on trees and suck the delicious juice of the kiwi fruit. Vegetable crops are a yummy snack for the native bees. We know that New Zealand native bees long tongues have similar taste buds to us!
>How Do They Breed?
New zealand native bees breed in similar ways to the common honey bees but here some differences. Uwha/females lay 3-10 eggs before death. Uwha/female bee dig 20-30 centimetres into the ground and then she lays her eggs. The Uwha/female looks after the larvae and starts feeding it pollen and nectar. The scientists still have a lot to discover about the New zealand native bee’s breeding ways.
>Are They Social?
New Zealand native bees are very lonely critters. Unlike honey and bumble bees they live in small groups in anaroa/tunnels but they don't communicate or talk with each other at all. Although they live in groups they are very solitary. It’s mind-blowing how they can live in groups but not even communicate.
>Are They Endangered?
The New Zealand native bee is very threatened and people are very worried that our native bees are going to go extinct. Many birds impact on the population of the native bees. The honey bee explosion has put a dent in the native bee because the honey bees numbers have gone 390,523 in 2011 to 817,483 in 2017. Most people think the varroa mite kills the New zealand native bee but it only threatens the bumble and honey bee and does even hurt the native bee. Scientists also think the bees are disappearing due to pesticides and habitat loss. We love our native bees and we hope they are fighting for their life.
Native Bees are very different from the well known bumble and Honey bee but it's amazing how we still have our native bee alive and let's look after them so they can survive!
By Porsha
& Olive :)
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