Stingless Bee Pollination
All about the role of stingless bee pollination in agriculture and gardens
A Summary Of Current Research
Native stingless bee commercial pollination horticultural report.
Native bees have been demonstrated to be excellent pollinators of the following crops:
Strawberries, Blueberries and other berries
Maccadamia
Mango
Lychee
Avacado
Watermelons
Research is still on going for other crops
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2025 NSW DPI Native pollinator report (how to increase pollinators around berry farms)
Currently native stingless bees have been demonstrated to be very effective pollinators.
A diversity in pollinators has been shown to produce the best fruit set. Combining european honey bees, stingless bees, native solitary bees, and other pollinators can be achieved by providing suitable habitat area nearby or bringing in commercially managed bees.
It should be noted that wild pollination rates drop significantly 500m away from suitable habitat areas. This is also why managed bee colonies need to be dispersed throughout a pollination area.
Native Bees in Greenhouses - our results
Typically native bees shouldn't be kept in a greenhouse for longer than a few months. There is not enough floral diversity nore the tree resin resources required for them to maintain a functional colony. This can be fixed by rotating hives in and out of greenhouses.
We are currently testing to see if a hive can be maintained in a greenhouse permanently by using a split entrance that allows bees to forage both in the greenhouse and outside.
Pollination Contract Details
Use of insecticides, herbicides and other pesticides need to be carefully considered when bees are actively foraging. Please consult us before spraying if our bees are on your site.
We can do long term pollination contracts, our main cost is transportation/travel so please contact us for pricing. Cost is likely to be minimum $100 per hive for a year, we can improve the price if logistics works with other pollination contracts.
Pollination efficacy is reduced for a couple months after splitting so let us know the pollination windows of your crops well in advance. That way we can do our splits accordingly to give you the best pollination results.
Hives can be positioned anywhere in your cropping area using our starpicket mounting system.
