Trigona carbonaria hive

Dr Tim Heard pioneered the building of a hive to house Trigona carbonaria. These hives are great in that they take up just a small space in your backyard, and yet they house a whole civilisation! Once a year if your hive is healthy, you can remove the top box to extract the excess sugarbag honey. We paint our hives, not just because it's fun and looks good, but native bees can also distinguish colours and shapes. Painting each hive differently helps them recognise their own home so they don't end up in a battle with a neighbouring hive.

Trigona are stingless so it's okay to be close to them...though they can bite if you disrupt them too much or are sweaty!