Overview
About this course
In Australia we have approximately 11 species of social native bees that play a hugely important role in our ecosystem. Tetragonula carbonaria are one of these species. They do not have the ability to sting, but do defend their hives in other ways. Australian native stingless bees are a key pollinator of local wildflowers and contribute to our unique biodiversity.
- This brilliant workshop will introduce you to these fascinating insects and the ins and outs of backyard beekeeping.
- Learn about native bee anatomy, hive structure and castes.
- Explore native bee husbandry practices, split hives and budding.
- Discover the best ways to keep native bees at home, including suitable plant varieties, hive locations and maintenance.
- You will even get to taste some delicious native bee honey.
- This workshop is completed in one Saturday at our Lismore campus.
About the trainer
This workshop is delivered by Steve Maginity, a pollination consultant at The Australian Native Bee Company. It is a family owned business that employs 100’s of 1000’s of workers (the bees!). After completing a Diploma and Bachelor of Agricultural Science, Steve discovered native bees and become infatuated instantly.
“I couldn’t believe that we had such an amazing native insect with such incredible abilities and I needed to know more. I love that I am able to utilise native bees to make farming more profitable for growers and it excites me to see the crops produced. I love educating people about our precious resource so they too can experience these amazing creatures.”
In addition to running the business and its online retail store, Steve delivers workshops to schools, conferences, community groups as well as ACE Lismore.
