Our social native bees are the Stingless Bees and they usually nest inside hollow trees. Two common species are
In fact, there are also many bee species that are stingless! One species of stingless bee is the sugarbag bee, or Tetragonula Carbonaria.
Australia has over 1,700 species of native bees. Only 11 of these species are stingless! These are the native honey-producing bees (Tetragonula - previously called Trigona -- and Austroplebeia). All of the other species of native bees in Australia can sting.
With the exception of the highly social and stingless native bees in the genera Trigona and Austroplebeia, all other native bees have functional stings.
Honeybees bite enemies that are too small to sting, like wax moths and parasitic varroa mite, that make their way into the hive. The bite contains a natural anaesthetic that paralyses the victim, and the bees can then drag the body out of their home.
Caucasian bees are sometimes described as the gentlest of all honey bees. They are dark colored to black with grayish bands on the abdomen. They tend to construct burr comb and use large amounts of propolis to fasten combs and reduce the size of the entrance.
Sweat Bee (1.0)
In fact, his description of the sting — "light, ephemeral, almost fruity. As if a tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm” — makes it sound more like a salsa you might need to go easy on.
They are found in warm northern parts of Australia. Above: the arrival of a foraging carpenter bee is announced by a loud buzz! They are intent on gathering nectar and pollen for their nest - however, female carpenter bees can sting so should be treated with respect.
Known as the “stingless bee,” the Trigona spinipes can most commonly be found in Brazil and other regions of South and Central America. While they cannot sting and their bite is relatively harmless, these bees are still known to be aggressive.
It's the male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, which native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of California, Davis, calls "the teddy bear" bee. Like all male bees, it doesn't sting.
There are eleven species of described blue-banded bees in Australia ranging in size from 8-14 mm. They are also known as long-tongued bees or buzz pollinators. Blue-banded bees are solitary and are found in all states of Australia except Tasmania. They have a sting but are not aggressive.
Blue Banded Bees are not at all aggressive but they can give a mild sting if you grab them or step on them.
Carpenter bees don't sting unless provoked, but it's still important to know how to treat a bee sting in case it happens.
Stingless bees
Like honey bees and bumble bees, they belong to the Apidae bee family, but unlike honey bees and bumble bees, they have a very small stinger (actually a modified ovipositor) which is ineffective for defense (i.e. they can't use it to sting).
You may have seen some beekeepers work without any protection and experience no stings. This is because they work carefully to avoid crushing bees and setting off their alarm pheromones. They may also have built up experience with a particular hive, and thus they're aware of how those bees generally behave.
Carpenter bees are fairly docile and one of the least aggressive stinging insects.
Assassin bugs (Reduviidae species) can hunt and kill Australian social bees.
Habits: Africanized honey bees, sometimes called killer bees, were created when scientists in Brazil bred different bees and created an unusually aggressive species, which then escaped and entered the wild. They are highly aggressive and are known to attack people who are dozens of meters from their colony.
Some predators attack the colony of stingless bees, i.e. wasps, ants, spiders, and centipedes.
The bees can also be called guta or gila, possibly names for the three different species of native bee found in this area. Native bees have huge cultural significance to indigenous people from many parts of Australia, and have played a part in their culture for thousands of years.
The 15-24 mm Great Carpenter Bees are the largest bees in Australia! They cut nest burrows in soft timber such as dead limbs of a mango tree.
While bumblebees certainly can bite, it's not their go to defensive weapon, and is unlikely to cause great pain, but you will definitely know if you have been stung! Queens and workers can sting, but males, who are fewer, smaller and found near the end of the hive's development, can not.
The most painful
Another common introduced stinger in Australia is the European wasp, Vespula germanica. This wasp's sting doesn't get stuck in our skin, so they can inflict multiple stings when annoyed or provoked.
Hymenoptera can either be social or solitary. Social bees and wasps that live in colonies are much more likely to sting in defense of a hive or nest than their solitary counterparts. Honey bees, yellow jackets, and paper wasps are the most common bee and wasp sting offenders in the US by far, says Schmidt.
Wasp stings can be much more painful than bee stings. This is due in part to the fact that wasps are capable of stinging repeatedly—often in the same spot. Wasps are more aggressive and will sting at will, especially when they are provoked or when their nest is threatened.