Are you interested in managing native bees to improve the pollination and yield of your crops?

Then attend this upcoming workshop and get informed on native bee identification, propagation and management. The workshops are aimed at the horticultural industries of northern Australia so you will also learn about the reproductive biology of the targeted crops.

A series of 10 workshops on this topic are being planned for NT, Qld and NSW, between June and November 2023. While the NT and some Queensland workshops have been completed, more are planned for Queensland and NSW.

These workshops will be presented by Dr Tim Heard in collaboration with local experts with funding from AgriFutures Australia Emerging Industries and some industry associations.

The workshops will involve lectures, and live demonstrations and examples of solitary bee and native stingless bee management. The workshops run for a full day and are free to attend.

Numbers of attendees are limited.

Native beeMegachile punctata. Photo: Erica Siegel.

Workshop objectives

Share knowledge on the benefits, biology and management of native bees in crops

- Engage crop growers to enhance the awareness of native bees as crop pollinators

- Learn to identify which native bees are already present on farms

- Discuss the management of natural vegetation, windbreaks, inter-row vegetation, and fallow land for boosting bee populations

- Provide knowledge on management techniques for solitary bees and stingless bee hives on farms.

- These tools are relevant to all crops that depend on insect pollination but are particularly aimed at macadamia, lychee, mango, avocado, blueberry, coffee, finger limes, rambutan, dragon fruit, Kakadu plum, Davidson plum and jackfruit.

Stingless bee on a macadamia stamen.

Dr Heard is an entomologist, stingless beekeeper and promoter of native bees for pollination, honey, education, and conservation. He is an ex-CSIRO research scientist, secretary of the Australian Native Bee Association and organiser of the Australian Native Bee conference.

He regularly presents workshops and seminars, talks on radio and is the author of multi award winning and best-selling ‘The Australian Native Bee Book’.

Attendance is free but you must register at this site: https://australiannativebee.org.au/events 

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