Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish writes:
I doubt it. The blue arsed bee (don't know it's proper name) nests in
our brick wall. European honey bees use things like tree hollows (and
compete for space and food with possums).

While the mortar bee (I'm not sure that I'm correct with the name) is a
native bee, it is a solitary bee, and not what people usually mean when
speaking of the native honey bee. The latter is a tiny insect that lives
in a colony of thousands, and most people would mistake it for a small fly.
In size it is something like that of a hover fly.

Strangely, there is a push among some horticulturists for the
introduction of the European bumblebee even though the native blue
arsed bee is a much more effective pollinator.

I have heard Tasmanian farmers say that a big advantage of the Euro bumble
bee is that it continues to work even in dull showery weather, weather
that sees the introduced honeybee down tools. I haven't noticed whether
the blue-and-black-striped bee is an all-weather worker, have you? Also,
have you got more than just one or two of them nesting in your mortar?

Question to Len: do the native honey bees continue flying on dull, showery
days?
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)