A Native Stingless Bee course will be held this October in Wauchope and will teach locals the craft of beekeeping.
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The course will cover bee nesting biology, bee forage biology, the importance of bees in natural systems, traditional stingless bee-keeping from around the world, modern stingless bee-keeping in Australia, using stingless bees for pollination of gardens, sugarbag honey and its properties, and rescuing bees threatened in the wild.
Long term stingless beekeeper Dr Tim Heard and researcher Dr Tobias Smith will present the course.
Dr Heard is an entomologist and an ex-CSIRO research scientist. He is also the author of a book titled The Australian Native Bee.
Dr Tobias Smith has completed his PhD on native bees at the University of Queensland. His research included understanding bee communities in agricultural landscapes and the use of native bees and alternative pollinators in crop pollination.
The course will be held in Wauchope on October 26.
“Native bees are an important pollinator and will become increasingly used in Australian agriculture if threats to European honey bees continue,” course coordinator Patrick McEntee said.
It is restricted to 40 people at a cost of $40.00 per person. Bookings can be made through Patrick McEntee via patrickmcentee18@gmail.com (preferably) or 0400483305.
Back in August, the Kempsey High School Youth Community Greening initiative focused on building habitats for native bees.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, parliament installed three beehives in bush land outside Parliament House in an effort to address declining bee populations.