European honey bee fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are European honey bees?

The European honey bee is the common honey bee kept by beekeepers in Australia. It was introduced to Australia by European settlers and is now found in managed hives and wild colonies across much of the country. European honey bees are important pollinators for many crops and garden plants, but wild colonies can also create problems in bushland when they compete with native animals for nectar, pollen and tree hollows.

A European honey bee.

European honey bees have a hairy body, clear wings and a banded abdomen.

What do European honey bees look like?

European honey bees are small insects with three main body parts: a head, thorax and abdomen. They have six legs, two pairs of clear wings, large compound eyes and antennae. Their bodies are covered in fine hairs and their abdomen is usually banded with brown, black and dull golden colours.

The honey bees most people see on flowers are worker bees. Worker bees collect nectar and pollen, feed young bees, build wax comb and help defend the colony. The queen bee is larger than the workers and lays eggs. Male bees are called drones.

European honey bees visit flowers to collect nectar and pollen.

Where do European honey bees live?

European honey bees live together in large colonies. A colony may live in a managed hive or in a wild nest. Wild colonies often choose dry, sheltered cavities such as tree hollows, wall spaces or other enclosed places. Inside the colony, bees build wax comb with many hexagon-shaped cells. These cells are used to store honey and pollen and to raise young bees.

At Field of Mars Reserve, European honey bees may be seen visiting flowers when trees, shrubs and groundcover plants are flowering. A wild colony in a tree hollow should not be disturbed. Tell an adult if you see many bees flying in and out of the same hollow or wall space.

Honey bee larvae develop inside wax cells before becoming adults.

Managed hives are used by beekeepers to house European honey bee colonies.

What do European honey bees eat?

European honey bees feed on nectar and pollen from flowers. Nectar is a sweet liquid that gives bees energy. Pollen provides protein and other nutrients. Worker bees collect nectar using a long tongue-like mouthpart called a proboscis. They carry pollen on their body hairs and in pollen baskets on their hind legs.

As honey bees move between flowers, they can transfer pollen from one flower to another. This helps many crops and garden plants produce seeds and fruit. However, not all Australian native plants are well pollinated by honey bees. Some native plants need native bees that can use special behaviours such as buzz pollination. Honey bees do not use buzz pollination.

As honey bees move between flowers, pollen can stick to their hairy bodies.

What is the life cycle of a European honey bee?

European honey bees go through complete metamorphosis. Their life cycle has four stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. The queen lays eggs in wax cells. After hatching, larvae are fed by worker bees. The cells are then capped with wax while the larvae change into pupae. Adult bees later emerge from the cells.

A honey bee colony has three kinds of adult bees. The queen lays eggs. Workers are female bees that do most of the jobs in the colony. Drones are male bees. Each bee has a role that helps the colony survive.

A honey bee colony has one queen, many workers and male drones.

How do European honey bees work together?

A honey bee colony is a highly organised insect society. A large colony can contain tens of thousands of bees. Worker bees do different jobs as they grow older. Young workers clean cells and feed larvae. Older workers build comb, guard the hive and fly out to collect nectar, pollen, water and plant resins.

Honey bees also communicate. A worker that finds a good food source can perform a waggle dance inside the hive. This dance helps other workers find the direction and distance to flowers.

Honey bee swarms form when part of a colony leaves with a queen to find a new home.

What adaptations do European honey bees have to help them survive?

European honey bees have many adaptations for finding food and living in colonies. Their hairy bodies help pollen stick to them. Pollen baskets on their hind legs help them carry pollen back to the hive. Their antennae help them sense smells, touch and movement. Their wings allow them to fly between flowers and return to the colony.

Worker bees can sting to defend the colony. A honey bee sting can be painful and may be dangerous for people who are allergic. Honey bees should be watched calmly from a distance and never swatted, trapped or disturbed.

Pollen baskets on the hind legs help worker bees carry pollen back to the hive.

Are European honey bees native to Australia?

European honey bees are not native to Australia. They were introduced more than 190 years ago and are now widespread. Managed honey bee hives are important for honey, beeswax and crop pollination. Wild or feral colonies are colonies that live away from managed hives.

Australia also has many native bee species, including blue-banded bees, carpenter bees and stingless bees.

In bushland, feral honey bees can compete with native animals in two main ways. They can collect nectar and pollen that native bees, butterflies, flies, birds and mammals also use. They can also occupy tree hollows. Tree hollows are very important shelters and nest sites for many Australian animals. When a honey bee colony fills a hollow, native animals such as parrots, kingfishers, possums, gliders, microbats and reptiles may no longer be able to use it.

Feral honey bee colonies can occupy tree hollows used by native animals.

Tree hollows are important shelter and nesting sites for many Australian animals.

Why are tree hollows important?

Tree hollows form slowly as trees age, lose branches or are damaged by fire, fungi, insects and weather. In Australian bushland, many animals depend on hollows because they cannot make large hollows themselves. Some birds nest in hollows. Possums, gliders and microbats use hollows for shelter. Some reptiles and frogs also use hollows as safe resting places.

Large hollows can take many years to form, so they are valuable habitat. Feral honey bee colonies can reduce the number of hollows available for native animals. This is one reason competition from feral honey bees is listed as a key threatening process in New South Wales.

Tree hollows provide nesting places for native birds such as Australian owlet-nightjars.

How can you help pollinators and hollow-using animals?

You can help pollinators by planting a variety of flowering local native plants that flower at different times of the year. Avoid spraying insecticides on flowering plants because these chemicals can harm bees and other insects. Leave leaf litter, bare soil patches, logs and native vegetation where it is safe to do so, because many native insects use these places for shelter.

You can also help hollow-using animals by protecting old trees, dead trees and fallen branches where they are safe to leave. Do not disturb wild bee colonies. If a colony or swarm is close to people, tell an adult so they can contact a beekeeper, council or pest specialist.

Native gardens provide food for pollinating animals.

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