Our NZ native bees

Quick Facts: • We have 28 species of native bees in New Zealand. Of those, 27 are endemic – meaning they occur only in New Zealand • Our native bees largely fall into three families – Leioproctus, Lasioglossum, and Hylaeus • Females of the Leioproctus family (the largest family of the three) dig 20-30cm tunnels into the ground, into which they lay one egg, and feed the larvae with pollen and nectar foraged from surrounding flowers. • Lasioglossum bees are similar, although several females might share a nest hole. • The Hylaeus family nests in plant material – beetle holes, or hollow straws in dead flax stems • Non-aggressive and very rarely sting • Smaller than honey bees and generally black • Best identified by their nests - a cluster of small holes in the ground under bare, undisturbed soils. • Are important pollinators for our native flora such as mānuka, kānuka, hebe and pohutukawa but have also adapted to introduced flowers • For most species foraging range is limited (less than 100 m). Both these images are taken in Mangaiti Gully.