I am a V.I.B. -

First, let me tell you why I am special.

Then, I’ll tell you why I need your help.

This

is a E

uropean honey bee.Around 190 years

ago, some people brought bees like this to Australia

from Europe to make honey.

You’ve probably seen European bees

before.

There are more than 1,500 species of

Australian bees, in different colours

and sizes.

We don’t produce as much honey as the

European bees.

I am NOT a European bee.

My family has always lived in this country.

I’m one kind of native bee called a Blue Banded Bee

- see my gorgeous stripes?

Unl

ike

Euro

pean

honey

bees, which live together in a hive...

I live on my own. Most Australian bee spec

ies ar

e so

litar

y.

Some Australian bees are stingless.

But like European honey bees, I have a stinger.

I am less aggressive than the European bees:

... unless you give me a bad fright or make me angry.

Only female native bees can sting.

Ouch! Bees will sting in

self-defence.Some people are allergic to bee

stings.

I’m s

malle

r than

a European honey bee.

I may be small, but I have a BIG job.

- I’m Polly the Pollinator!

Let me explain what that means…

Pollen is a special powder produced

by flowers. It’s often yellow,

but it can be other colours too.

The Quasihesma bee from Queensland

is less than 2 millimetres long. It’s the smallest bee in the world!

The largest Australian bee is 24mm long.

- which means they can’t grow fruits or seeds -

Mostly, pollen is spread by flying insects that visit the flowers – pollinators, like me.

There are many native plants - like Hibbertia

(above) - that are only pollinated by native bees. Without us, these plants

would become extinct.

We also keep the plants in your parks and gardens growing well.

I am better at spreading pollen than the European honey bee. In Australia,

native bees like me help many human food crops to grow.

This is why I am a Very Important Bee.

And I need your help.

Like humans, my babies take nine months to develop. During that time, they need protection from bad weather and hungry predators, such as spiders.

Solitary Australian bees like to nest in long, narrow spaces, like a little tunnel in sandy ground, a crack in a dead tree, or a hollow plant stem.

... to find safe places like these, because more and more people are moving in and changing our environment.

In other words, the natural habitat of Australian bees is disappearing.

This is

It means that fewer bee babies – fewer pollinators - are being born.

Without pollinators, human food crops won’t grow. So this is also

The good news is:

to help solve this problem.

You can help native Australian bees like me, by building

in your garden at home or at school. It’s pretty easy and it’s fun!

A bee hotel is a small box, filled with timber scraps drilled with holes, or with hollow pieces of cane or bamboo. There are more instructions in the back of this book.

If you build one and leave it in a safe, quiet part of your garden, my bee friends and I will find it and move in to lay our eggs.

Pretty soon, there will bee in your bee hotel.

from your plants, to feed our fam

ilies.

Another way that you can help us bees is to

in your garden at home or at school.

Then

we

will h

arvest

pollen and nectar - the sweet fl ower juice -

One more thing: please

in your garden, because they can kill bees.

If you do these helpful things, then you’ll bee a V.I.P. -

And while we’re collecting our food, we’ll spread pollen around your garden, which will make all the plants grow well.

Then you can harvest some yummy fruits and veggies to feed your family.

It’s time for me to buzz off – I’m a busy bee.

But keep your eyes open when you’re out in the garden, and bee sure to say

if you see me flying around.

Notes for teachers and parentsHow to build a bee hotelThere are no building diagrams here for your bee hotel. Use your imagination to create something simple and rustic or elaborate and sculptural. Either way, the bees will be happy to have a safe place to nest.

• Use natural materials, like chemically untreated, recycled timber: old furniture or hardwood fence palings, wooden crates or off-cuts.

• Avoid composite materials such as cardboard, particle board or chipboard, as they tend to disintegrate in wet weather.

• The hotel does not need to be deeper than 15cm. Fill it with a selection of hollow twigs, dried plant stems, canes or bamboo of various diameters (from 2mm to 10mm). Cover the contents with chicken wire, for stability. Alternatively, drill holes - 15cm deep and of varying diameters - into a block of wood.

• Put a sloping roof on your hotel, with an overhang to keep rain out of the tunnels.

• Place the hotel in a sunny spot, sheltered from wind. It must be at least 1m and no more than 2m off the ground. You can mount it on a wall or on a post.

Notes for teachers and parentsFood for pollinators means food for us Bees collect pollen and nectar from flowers to feed themselves and their young. In the process, they cross-pollinate plants. So our farms, orchards, plant nurseries, native bush, parks and gardens depend on bees.Native bees find it difficult to survive in our ever-expanding suburbs and towns, especially when our gardens are filled with plants that produce little pollen or nectar, like succulents, palms and ornamental grasses.To help take care of the native bee population, as well as building a bee hotel, place some pollen- and nectar-rich plants nearby - and avoid spraying them with pesticides. Bees love fruit trees, veggie gardens and flowers - and so do humans!

Want more info about native bees?aussiebee.com.auaustraliannativebees.comen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_native_beesOn Facebook, search for the ‘Build a Bee Hotel’ group

Albert Einstein is credited with saying,

“If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no

more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination ... no more

men!”

This book, for primary school children, their teachers and parents, was created from an original concept by Mercedes Ramirez (m3rr1m@gmail.com),

with illustrations by Emily Gornalle, and editing and design by Rebecca Colless.

This is a Hume Enviro Champions project, supported by Hume City Council and an Environment Grant from Western Water.

Pinnacle Print Group donated the printing of this book.

ISBN: 978-0-646-91529-6