The following is an opinion piece, designed to promote discussion and thought about helping all bees (not simply Apis Mellifera). If you are offended by this article, I would encourage you to take part in the discussion, but please keep in mind that people of all ages may access this site, and aggressive or harassing behavior will not be allowed. If you have any submissions, please feel free to contact me at beebenefactor@gmail.com.

Bees are very interesting creatures. There are literally tens of thousands of types (in the vicinity of 19,200 globally) that we know of, which means that there are more types of bee than there are mammals and birds COMBINED. In Australia alone, we have over 1,500 known species, including the increasingly popular (and increasingly endangered) stingless varieties (e.g. Tetragonula carbonaria) of which there are 10 known varieties. Bees have multiple ways that the harvest pollen and nectar, with some using very long tongues to reach into deep flowers (like the Amegilla bombiformis aka the Teddy Bear Bee), others (like the Amegilla cingulata aka the Blue Banded Bee) use a technique called “buzz pollination” to vibrate a flower causing pollen to fall off onto the bee. Fascinating as these methods are, the implication is that multiple bees require multiple types of flowers. Continue reading →