HAVE YOU SEEN A BUMBLE BEE ON THE AUSTRALIAN MAINLAND?
Aussie Bee > Bumblebee Problem > Report a Bumblebee Sighting
Other Aussie Bee reports on Bumble Bees:
-- How to identify a bumblebee
-- What harm could exotic bumblebees cause?
-- How far could feral bumblebees spread in Australia
-- Bumblebees and invasive weeds in Australia
-- The native bee alternative to the exotic bumblebee
Please report any Bumble Bee sightings to local authorities: contact details below.
Help us keep exotic Bumblebees out of mainland Australia!
Be on the lookout for Bumblebees -- click here for descriptions and photos.
(Photo derived from work by Vera Buhl, CC BY-SA 3.0.)
Keeping the Australian mainland free of Bumblebees will require much vigilance. Feral European Bumblebees are now widespread in both Tasmania and New Zealand. It is quite easy for Bumblebee queens to hitch a ride to the Australian mainland on a ship or a plane.
In May 2003, a Bumblebee queen was caught on Appleton dock in Melbourne. It was sitting on the back of a wharfie who was unloading a ship from New Zealand. In the same month a Bumblebee worker was caught foraging on flowers on Fisherman's Island wharf in Brisbane. There was also a report of a Bumblebee sighting in Sydney in 2018.
To report any Bumblebees that you see on the Australian mainland:
-- In Victoria, phone: 136 186.
More information: http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-weeds/pest-insects-and-mites/bumblebee
-- In NSW, phone 1800 084 881 (Exotic Plant Pest Hotline -- also for reporting exotic insects) or email: biosecurity@dpi.nsw.gov.au
To report a sighting online, or for more information: https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animals-and-livestock/bees/pests-diseases/other-pests-and-diseases/bumblebees
-- In Queensland, phone: 13 25 23.
More information: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/land-management/health-pests-weeds-diseases/pests/invasive-animals/prohibited/large-earth-bumblebee
In other states and territories, please contact your local Department of Primary Industries
Other Aussie Bee reports on Bumble Bees:
-- How to identify a bumblebee
-- What harm could exotic bumblebees cause?
-- How far could feral bumblebees spread in Australia
-- Bumblebees and invasive weeds in Australia
-- The native bee alternative to the exotic bumblebee
