What’s the Buzz? South Africa’s indigenous honeybees

Cape Honeybee on Trachyandra falcata Nieuwoudtville. Photo: John Manning.

The Veld & Flora centrefold factsheet in the March 2014 issue covers the topics Being a honeybee, Habitat and forage, Life cycle and answers the question Are South Africa’s honeybees in trouble?

Download the factsheet here. 

These related articles, some of them mentioned in the factsheet, can be downloaded by clicking on their titles. 

Honey Bee forage plants: How can you help? by Mbulelo Mswasi and Carol Poole, Veld & Flora 101(2), p. 82-83, June 2015.

Comb honey for breakfast by David Donald, Veld & Flora 98(4), p. 170, December

2012

Crop agriculture, pollination and honeybees by Carol Poole in Veld & Flora 97(3), p. 122, September 2011  

A world without bees by B. Walsh in Time, 19 August 2013.

Poster by SANBI.

SANBI Animal of the Week: Cape Honeybee by Carol Poole and Mbulelo Mswazi.

There are many other kinds of bees in South Africa that also provide important pollination services. Many of our solitary bees are active for only a few weeks of the year and every season has its own fauna, while honeybees are active all year round. Read the article

More than just honey:Solitary bees and pollination in the SouthAfrican winter rainfall area by Michael Kuhlmann in Veld & Flora 96(3), pp. 120-121, September 2010. 

Volume 97(1-3) March, June and September 2011

September 2011

Download the following articles on Learning about Biodiversity: POLLINATION
Pollination: Draw a mind map.
Veld & Flora FACTSHEET on Pollination.
Crop agriculture, pollination and honeybees: The Global Pollination Project and the Honeybee Forage Project.

Download these articles on pollination:
"A flower is a leaf, mad with love": The sex organs that are flowers by A Milewski.
Bobbejaantjies by P Goldblatt and J Manning.
How fig trees are pollinated by S van Noort.
Klein Karoo Buzz: Why unrelated flowers look the same by J Vlok.
Nectar for the birds by P Wester.
Needles and pins: The discovery of a new pollination sustem in the ribbon pincushions by J Manning.
Of mice and massonias by S Johnson, A Pauw and J Midgley.
Pollination of Adromischus by G Nicolson.
The aerodynamics of Wind Pollination by H Nieuwmeyer.
Tylecodon cacalioides and a Long-proboscid Horsefly by R Gess.
Why do some flowers close at night? by J Vlok.


June 2011

Designing scientific investigations.
COP: Come to the party - the United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change.
The amazing colour-changing flower.
What's cracking with fracking?

March 2011

Its time to stop the illegal trading of animals and plants
Climate Change Fact Sheet
Climate mitigation in KwaZulu-Natal
Through a macro-lens magnificently. Taking art into Nature