Stingless bee fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are stingless bees?

Stingless bees are native Australian bees. The species most often kept in backyard hives and commonly seen along Australia’s east coast is Tetragonula carbonaria. They are tiny, much smaller than European honey bees and they live together in large social colonies with a queen and many worker bees.

Even though they can’t sting, stingless bees can still protect their nest. Guard bees watch the entrance, and workers use sticky plant resin often called propolis, and wax–resin building material called cerumen to strengthen and seal parts of the nest.

Aboriginal peoples often refer to honey made by stingless bees as sugarbag. A stingless bee.

Stingless bees are very small.

Where do stingless bees live?

Stingless bees are found in the warmer parts of eastern Australia and are often seen in bushland, parks and gardens where there are plenty of flowering plants. They usually nest in sheltered places such as hollows in living or dead trees, where the inside of the cavity stays protected from wind and rain.

Because they are social, many bees come and go from the same nest entrance. If you watch quietly, you may see workers returning with pollen packed onto their hind legs, while others leave the nest to search for nectar and resin. The entrance to a stingless bee nest.

What do stingless bees eat?

Stingless bees eat nectar and pollen from flowers. Nectar provides energy (sugars) and pollen provides protein and other nutrients that help larvae grow. Workers visit many different flowers as they forage, which means a single colony can interact with lots of plant species in the local area.

Stingless bees also collect plant resins. They don’t eat resin like nectar, but they use it as a building material to help waterproof the nest, line the inside of the cavity and protect the entrance.

Stingless bees collect pollen and nectar from flowering plants.

What is the life cycle of a stingless bee?

Stingless bees go through a complete metamorphosis: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Inside the nest, workers build small brood cells out of waxy resin. A worker places food into a cell, the queen lays an egg, and then the cell is sealed. The larva grows inside the sealed cell, changes into a pupa, and later emerges as an adult bee.

In a colony, worker bees do most of the visible work. They forage for food, care for developing young, build and repair the nest and guard the entrance. The queen’s main role is to lay eggs so the colony can keep growing.

How do stingless bees help plants?

When stingless bees visit flowers to drink nectar and collect pollen, pollen grains can stick to their bodies. As they move to the next flower, some pollen rubs off onto the stigma, helping the plant to reproduce by pollination.

Pollination supports healthy ecosystems because it helps plants produce seeds and fruit. In gardens and bushland, stingless bees are part of a much larger team of native pollinators that includes other bees, flies, butterflies, beetles and birds.

Stingless bee on a coriander flower with pollen on its legs.

What is a stingless bee nest like?

A stingless bee nest is a carefully organised structure built in darkness inside a hollow. The bees use wax mixed with sticky plant resin called cerumen to build walls, tunnels and storage pots.

If you could see inside a nest, you would usually notice three main areas. Near the centre is the brood (the nursery) where new bees develop. In Tetragonula carbonaria nests, the brood is built in a neat spiral/layered comb. Around the brood are clusters of small pots that store pollen and honey.

At the entrance, you might only see a small hole from the outside. Workers often coat the area around the entrance with smooth resin. Just inside the entrance they may build an internal tunnel where guard bees can protect the nest.

Inside the nest, young bees develop in sealed brood cells.

How can you help stingless bees?

You can help stingless bees by making your garden or schoolyard a good place for native pollinators. Plant a range of local native flowering plants so there is nectar and pollen across different seasons, and include a mix of small flowers and larger blossoms to support different insects.

It also helps to protect nesting places. Old trees, dead branches and hollows are important habitat, so leaving safe tree hollows in place supports wildlife, including native bees. Avoid spraying pesticides on flowering plants, because chemicals can harm bees when they feed.

Gardens full of native plants provide food for stingless bees.

People can build a special box called a hive to care for stingless bees. The bees create their nest inside the hive. Watch the video of stingless bees flying in and out of a hive. Carefully observe and you’ll see pollen stored in pockets on their back legs.

Related fact sheets

More invertebrate fact sheets

• Invertebrate fact sheets – overview
• Insects fact sheet – explains insect features and how bees fit into the insect group.
• Blue-banded bee fact sheet

Habitats and ecosystems

• Shrub habitat fact sheet
• Tree habitats fact sheet
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet

Plants that provide nectar and pollen

• Plant fact sheets – overview
• Old man banksia fact sheet
• Hairpin banksia fact sheet
• Scribbly gum fact sheet
• Paper-bark tea tree fact sheet

Learn with us

Learning programs

Explore our primary and secondary incursions and excursions that examine animal habitats and ecosystems.

Learning resources

Find online lessons and classroom ideas that can be used to learn about native plants and animals.

Flora and fauna fact sheets

Learn more about other Australian animals and plants.