A comparison between native bee (Trigona Carbonaira) renamed to Tetragonula Carbonaira vs introduced honey bee (apis mellifera)
| Characteristics |
Native bee (Tetragonula Carbonaira) |
Honey bee (apis mellifera) |
| Subfamily | Eliponinae – Native Austroplebia or Tetragonula stingless bees | Apinae – introduced honey bee from Europe in about 1822 |
image from www.aussiebees.com.au |
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| Species | 2000 or more native bees – stingless, social and hundreds of solitary or semi social bees
10 species of social native bees |
20,000 species but only 7 species of honey bee are recognized |
| Hive cost | approximately $550+
(Comes with hive box and colony of bees) www.sugarbag.net – native bee suppliers and other resources |
+ $700-900
Separate costs for set up of hive, protective equipment, and cost of package bees or nucleus. |
| Location of hive | Facing north and east
Do best when receive morning sun, afternoon shade Out of sun by 10am |
From morning sun to open sunny position |
| Hive Conditions | Field workers operates between 18°C and 35°C | Field workers – generally most conditions out and collecting nectar / pollen |
| Worker Conditions within hive | Dependent on the hive construction – well insulated, temperature and humidity controlled – between 26 – 28.5°C. | Temperature (38-40°C) and humidity controlled |
| General description of worker bee | Worker bees 3-4 mm in length
Small grey black in colour |
Worker bees – 13mm to 17mm in length
Italian or Ligurian – abdominal bands varying in colour from dark straw to golden to deep yellow Caucasian bee – grey / black haired |
| Hive colony description | Consists of queen
Female worker bees Males drone bees |
Consists of queen
Female work bees Males drone bees |
| Numbers in colony | Strong colony – 5,000 | Strong colony 30,000 – 80,000 worker bees |
| Typical day | Young worker bees (callows) ability to make wax with plant resins (ability to make wax declines with age), clean the hive – rubbish disposal, guard duties, foraging | Worker bees – gather nectar, pollen, propolis, water, produce wax to build combs, control hive temperature and humidity, attend queen, produce brood, nurse the brood, clean the hive, ripen and store honey and protect the nest |
| Distance travelled | 500m radius but prefer to forage within 100m | 5000 – 8000m radius |
| Average age | Average 50 days for worker bees
Queen – ? |
Average 40 days for worker bees
Queen – up to 5 years |
| Life cycle | Worker
Egg – 3days Larva – 6 days Pupa – |
Worker
Egg – 3days Larva – 6 days Pupa – 8 days Workers mature – 21 days |
| Defense | Stingless
Other means of protecting the hive – such as deposits sticky resin around their entrance. Can bite and crawl over the invader Can repeatedly daub invader with small blobs of resin until invader becomes immobile. |
Stingers
Multiple stings from angry hive Protection required |
| Food source | Nectar – carbohydrate (energy)
Pollen – protein |
Nectar – carbohydrate (energy)
Pollen – protein |
| Collection | Carry pollen on hind legs
Honey sac to collect nectar |
Carry pollen on hind legs
Honey sac to collect nectar |
| Usefulness | Pollination in gardens | Pollination in gardens |
| Communication | Not sure | Waggle Dance |
| Hive structure | Brood super – two boxes
Additional super added for honey production |
Brood super
Honey super 1-2-3 in total |
| Honey and pollen storage | Stingless bees hoard their excess stores in irregularly shaped pollen and honey pots which overlap and are attached to the walls and ceiling of their home. | Honey bees store excess honey and pollen in regular hexagonal cells contained within vertical combs made of pure beeswax |
| Honey production | If honey super added about 0.5 to 1.5kg | Based on 8 frame super – about 30 kg /super |
| Cost of honey | 500g – $50 | 500g – between $7 – $10 |
| Cost of beeswax | $75 per kilogram (unprocessed contains honey, pollen and dead bees) | $30 per kilogram |
| Disease | Small Hive Beetle
Syrphid fly (Ceriana ornate) Bembix wasp or Sand Wasp Cadaghi (Corymbia torelliana or Eucalyptus torelliana) |
American Foulbrood (AFB)
European Foulbrood (EFB) Small Hive Beetle (SHB) Greater and Lesser Wax moth Chalkbrood Wasps Nosema |
| Legal requirements | Nil | Become a registered beekeeper with DPI –
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animals-and-livestock/bees/beekeeper-registration. Register hive with Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Limited to number of hives on suburban block – 2 hives – 500m2 4 hives – 1000 m2 Unlimited hives – over 1000m2 |
Hive only brood box containing Italian or Ligurian honey bees
Near terracotta pots –containing water plants – located on star post double box hive of stingless bees – (Tetragonula Carbonaira)
Photo M. Glabus
Native hive within log, rescued October 2015. Hive contains (Tetragonula Carbonaira). Photo M. Glabus
Source of information
Websites
- www.zabel.com.au – native bee suppliers and other resources
- www.aussiebees.com.au – Australian Native Bee Research Centre
- www.sugarbag.net – Dr Tim Heard
- https://www.facebook.com/sugarbagbees/
Books
- Australian Stingless Bees – A guide to Sugarbag Beekeeping – John Klummp
- The bee book – Beekeeping in Australia – Peter Wahurst and Roger Goebel
- Bee AgSkills – A Practical Guide to Farm Skills – Department of Primary Industries.
- Backyard Bees – A guide for the beginner beekeeper – D. Purdie.
- Australian Native Bees Guide – DPI