MAKE YOUR GARDEN HOSPITABLE TO NATIVE BEES, AS WELL AS HONEY BEES, AND YOU’LL ALWAYS HAVE PLENTY OF POLLINATORS
Many of the bees you see buzzing around your garden, busily collecting nectar and pollen are Apis mellifera, or honey bees. The first hive of these foreign honey bees was brought to Tasmania from Liverpool, England, in 1821 on the ship Mary. But have you ever wondered who did the work of pollination before the European bees arrived?
A closer inspection of your garden will probably reveal a wide variety of native bees, working side by side with European honey bees, collecting and dispersing pollen and seeking nectar and resin. These bees, together with beetles, wasps, flies, butterflies, bats and birds, still pollinate our native plants and are pollinators for fruit, vegies and herbs.
SOCIAL AND SOLITARY BEES
We have an estimated 2000 species of native bees in Australia, each preferring a particular climatic and habitat range across the land. Some bees, such as the stingless Tetragonula and Austroplebeia species, are social bees, living in colonies of up to several thousand. They’re found in northern Australia and along the eastern seaboard south to the Victorian border.
Solitary bees such as Resin bees, Teddy Bear bees and Leafcutter bees are some of the more commonly found native bees. They lay their eggs in hollow plant stems, trees or mud banks. Some may make leaf or twig nests for their eggs. Making a bee hotel (as shown in Good Organic Gardening Vol. 6 No. 4) encourages them to nest in your garden, as does providing hollows in old trees for their nests.
THE NEED TO FEED
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May - June 2018-Ausgabe von Good Organic Gardening.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May - June 2018-Ausgabe von Good Organic Gardening.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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Glamour girls
EVERYONE LOVES A HARDWORKING ISA BROWN BUT GET A LOAD OF THESE CHIC CHICKENS AND FEATHERED FASHIONISTAS
FRIED VEG
IT’S POSSIBLE TO ENJOY A FRY-UP IN A DELICIOUSLY HEALTHY WAY BY TURNING TO SOME FRY-FRIENDLY PLANTS
BEYOND BIG RED
TOMATOES COME IN ALL SHAPES, SIZES AND COLOURS, SO NOW’S THE TIME TO EXPLORE THEIR INFINITE VARIETY
EVEN MORE TROPPO
ANOTHER SENSATIONAL SIX TO CONSIDER FOR YOUR GARDEN — OR YOUR FRUIT SALAD
LET'S STALK RHUBARB
JUST AS TOMATO IS A FRUIT USED AS A VEGETABLE, RHUBARB IS A VEGETABLE COMMONLY CONSUMED AS A DESSERT
FOOD OF THE GODS
THE FLESHY FRUIT OF THE FICUS WAS MUHAMMAD’S FAVOURITE AND BUDDHA FOUND ENLIGHTENMENT UNDER A FIG TREE
MAKING GOOD BETTER
THE IRREPRESSIBLE TV PRESENTER WRITES ABOUT HOW SHE, WITH HUSBAND ANTON AND DAUGHTER FRIDA, TURNED A STEEP HOBART BLOCK INTO A PRODUCTIVE GARDEN
True lily
MANY PLANTS ARE CALLED LILIES BUT IT’S THE MEMBERS OF THE GENUS LILIUM THAT ARE THE REAL DEAL
SALTY BUDS
THE CAPER BUSH PRODUCES TWO DISTINCT BUT EQUALLY DELICIOUS, TANGY MORSELS: CAPERS AND CAPERBERRIES
Ducks on duty
BUSY, VIGILANT, HARD ON GARDEN PESTS AND GENEROUS LAYERS — YOU’VE GOTTA LOVE A DUCK!