Welcome to Aussie Bee Online

Aussie Bee Online is a valuable new resource on Australian native bees created by the Australian Native Bee Research Centre. Articles on a wide range of native bee topics will be added periodically to the Aussie Bee Online section of the Aussie Bee website and may be downloaded by visitors free of charge.

Aussie Bee Online is the successor to the highly popular Aussie Bee bulletin, a printed magazine that was published by the Australian Native Bee Research Centre for five years from 1997 to 2001.

What was Covered in Aussie Bee Bulletin?

Aussie Bee bulletin covered all basic aspects of Australian native bees:

techniques for keeping stingless bees;
descriptions of all major solitary bees and tips on how to keep and support them in a garden;
news about the introduction to Australia of exotic bees such as European bumble bees, Canadian leafcutters and South African carder bees;
reports on the use of native bees for crop pollination;
research on native bees as wildflower pollinators;
articles about the important role of native bees in Australian Aboriginal culture;
historical accounts of native bees that were written in the 1700s and 1800s; and
safari stories about adventurous searches for rare native bee species in the Australian outback.

The 18 issues of Aussie Bee bulletin form a fully indexed, complete encyclopedia on Australian native bees. There is still time to obtain copies of these unique magazines! Order your Aussie Bee back issues on the Aussie Bee website.

What will be in Aussie Bee Online?

The articles in Aussie Bee Online will cover many similar native bee topics:

the latest techniques for keeping Australian stingless bees;
reports on Australian research projects involving native bees;
news of the controversial proposals to introduce European bumble bees to the Australian mainland;
crop pollination articles by Dr Tim Heard, CSIRO (a continuation of his popular Aussie Bee series), including articles on coffee and strawberries; and
updates on Australian Native Bee Research Centre research activities including reports of our latest safaris and current surveys.

Who will Write for Aussie Bee Online?

Australian specialists in native bees will write articles for Aussie Bee Online. Here are details of some major authors:

My husband, Les Dollin, and I founded the Australian Native Bee Research Centre in 1995 to promote the preservation of Australian native bees by raising public awareness. We have been studying native bees for over 20 years and are currently involved in researching stingless bee husbandry techniques and crop pollination with native bees inside glasshouses;
Dr Tim Heard of CSIRO Entomology in Brisbane is a leading expert in the husbandry of stingless native bees and in crop pollination with native bees;
Dr Wendy Forno, recently retired from CSIRO, has set up Australia’s first apiary of Trigona clypearis stingless bees. She is studying the behaviour and husbandry of these unique Australian bees;
Dr Helen Wallace, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland is just beginning a three year research project on how stingless bees are affected by the soft resins of the cadagi tree (Corymbia torelliana). Her findings should have great relevance to the Australian stingless bee industry.

Click here to see photos of our major authors

Can the Aussie Bee Online Articles be Printed Out?

The articles in Aussie Bee Online are copyright. However, you are welcome to print out as many copies as you wish and give them to your friends as long as each article is kept in its full and unaltered form.

Why not print out all the articles and keep them in a ring-backed binder? This will build up year by year into a substantial addition to your native bee library. We have even provided a free downloadable cover page in full colour to decorate the front of your Aussie Bee Online binder!

We hope you enjoy Aussie Bee Online and invite you to explore with us, article by article, the fascinating world of Australian native bees!

Meet some of the authors who will bring you Aussie Bee Online...

Dr Anne Dollin of the Australian Native Bee Research Centre taking photographs of blue banded bees visiting tomato flowers inside a glasshouse at the University of Western Sydney. This was part of a collaborative research project between Melissa Bell and Associate Professor Robert Spooner-Hart of the University of Western Sydney - Hawkesbury, and the Australian Native Bee Research Centre. See Article 2 of *Aussie Bee Online* for a report on the latest progress in this unique study.

Les Dollin of the Australian Native Bee Research Centre shows an artificial nest design for native resin bees.

Dr Tim Heard, CSIRO, writes fascinating articles on crop pollination with native bees.

Dr Wendy Forno, CSIRO, with a special observation box which she and her husband designed for the tiny stingless bee, *Trigona clypearis*.

Dr Helen Wallace, University of the Sunshine Coast, in the laboratory where she will study the effects of cadagi resins on stingless bees.