Kin Kin Native Bees
Kin Kin, Noosa Hinterland
Conservation, distribution, hives and practical pollination support from Kin Kin Native Bees.
Welcome to Kin Kin Native Bees
Hello and welcome to our website, and thank you for your interest in native bees.
Kin Kin Native Bees produces hives of two species of native stingless bees, Tetragonula carbonaria and Tetragonula hockingsi. Hives are available for rental to commercial orchardists and for sale to the general public when available. Availability is generally seasonal.
Please contact us to discuss purchasing hives or renting them for pollination of your orchard or crop.
Services
Native bee rescue, contract pollination, sales of hives and empty boxes, information on keeping your own hive, educational talks for school groups, and nesting blocks for solitary bees.
Australian native bees are extremely effective pollinators of horticultural crops and native plants. Their small size helps them negotiate delicate flowers such as macadamia. With a flight range of about 500 metres, hives placed within an orchard keep bee activity close to the intended crop.
Macadamia, avocado, strawberries, rockmelon, watermelon, mango, blueberries, citrus and lychee—with more crops being trialled.
A hive of Australian native stingless bees is ideal for keen backyard vegetable growers, market gardeners and hobby farmers. They can sit right in the middle of a plot without fear of anyone being stung, so people and children can observe the bees returning with pollen.
Stand slightly to the side when watching the entrance so returning foragers can see their hive. An added honey super can also allow you to produce native bee honey.
If you know of a native bee hive in danger from land clearing or storm damage to a tree containing a nesting site, contact us and we will arrange a hive rescue.
We sell hives and empty boxes, provide information on keeping your own hive, sell nesting blocks for solitary bees, and share information on how to make your own.
Native stingless bee hives
We can discuss purchase of hives, rental for commercial pollination and the right timing for placement.
Bee boxes
Designed as honey bee queen mating nucs, these German-made, high-density polystyrene boxes have been used successfully for native bee colonies including TC, TH and AA.
The base is 220 mm wide by 270 mm long. With feet and lid it is 175 mm high; the second level is 220 W × 270 L × 100 H. The 20 mm tight-fitting lid suits either section, letting a colony begin in the base before a second section is added. The boxes are stackable and can be modified with different entrance designs, an overhanging tin lid for full sun, or a viewing panel.
Boxes can be posted individually or in packs of six. The best price is for 48 units, packed from Germany as two large base-box cartons and one second-tier carton; these are too large for Australia Post, so collection from Kin Kin or a courier is required. Australia Post guide: one box is $21.50 to Brisbane or $22.50 to Sydney; a box of six is $50 to Brisbane or $62 to Sydney.
Each box comes with both sections, feeder, screened bottom board, three-way entrance and lid. Contact us for other postage destinations and courier quotes for larger orders.
Bee info
We have acquired a wealth of knowledge about native bees and are happy to share.
Practical answers about siting, moving and caring for hives.
Information on common native stingless bees kept in the region.
Nesting blocks and habitat ideas for native solitary bees.
A group committed to nurturing and maintaining bees in the local environment.
Gaiya is one name used by the Gubbi Gubbi people for the native stingless bee.
Links to websites and communities that care about Australian native bees.
Hello HoneyAussie BeeMary River Catchment Coordinating CommitteeValley Bees CommunityGallery
Video
Contact
Kin Kin Native Bees is located in the village of Kin Kin in the Noosa hinterland on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
Contact us to discuss purchasing hives or renting them for pollination of your orchard or crop.