Without bees and other insect pollinators, life on this planet as we know it would collapse.

You might be interested to know that at this time of the year in Australia, when the weather is much cooler, bees are getting ready for winter and instinctively look for late-blooming flowers. If flowers are scarce, bees will buzz around your picnic, hoping to find a nectar substitute. The bees are not aggressive, but will become quite persistent, and it can be a little disconcerting to have them buzzing around your food and drink. The only solution is to cover or remove anything sweet, in particular fizzy drinks.

“A stunning variety of native Australian bees come in a wide range of sizes and colours and are found in most parts of the country. Some bees are metallic green, coppery red, or green tinged with purple. Others have glittering blue stripes or even white polka dots!”

Welcome to the Buzzy Bee Challenge!

Bees, with their intricate behaviours and remarkable abilities, never cease to amaze us. Are you ready to explore the fascinating world of bees and uncover their incredible secrets, such as the mesmerizing speed at which bees flap their wings? Let loose your curiosity and enthusiasm for all things bee-related and delve into the amazing lives of Australia’s native bee population.

Question:
1. How many times does a bee flap its wings in one second?
2. Approximately what number of species of Australian native bees are there??
3. Which bees are the best pollinators – European honeybees or Australian native bees??
4. What is “buzz pollination”??
5. Which are the largest and smallest bees that are native to Australia?

Submit your answers and any other fascinating facts that you uncover along the way to: [email protected] for a chance to win a tiny Buzzy Bee book. Good luck!