They might be tiny, but Australia's native stingless bees have an important job to do when the macadamia trees begin to flower.
During spring, the orchard is full of activity. Alongside European honeybees, you may also spot these much smaller native visitors moving amongst the macadamia flowers.
Native stingless bees are valuable pollinators of macadamias.
Their small size makes them well suited to moving amongst the many tiny flowers that make up a macadamia raceme, collecting pollen and nectar as they go.
Australian Macadamias notes that native stingless bees are used by many growers as natural pollinators and are particularly well suited to the structure of macadamia flowers.
While European honeybees may be the ones most people immediately recognise, having different pollinators active around the orchard can be valuable during flowering.
There's something quite fitting about seeing Australian native bees working amongst the flowers of Australia's native nut.
Macadamias originated here in Australia, and native stingless bees form part of the wider ecosystem surrounding their production.
They may be easy to miss when you're walking through the orchard but look closely and there's an incredible amount of activity happening amongst those flowers.
Sometimes some of the smallest visitors have one of the most important jobs.
