Excerpt taken (with permission) from:
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Our Bees
At Bee House Cottage Kitchen we keep Tetragonula Hockingsi, which is one of Australia's Native Stingless Bees! They are found primarily in Queensland and the colonies can get quite large, with up to 10,000 workers and a single queen.
Photo of a female worker bee, courtesy of Ken Walker.
In T.Hockingsi, the brood cells are shaped in smooth irregular horizontal combs. The species lacks an external entrance tunnel, and the combs of the nest are extremely important as they provide the substrate on which workers live, food is stored and the brood is reared.
Photo of a T.Hockingsi brood.
In addition to their role as pollinators, they produce a unique honey that is highly sort after. Australian Native Stingless Bee Honey has been found to have substantial health benefits. Each T.Hockingsi hive can produce up to 1kg of honey each year.
Photo of T.Hockingsi honey pots.
We actively support the good work of the Australian Native Bee Association.