Native Bee Hives

Native Bee Hive Price List

Tetra Hive

All hives come fully stocked with Australian native stingless bees (Tetragonula Carbonaria or Hockingsi). One year conditional warranty (see below). Available for pick up only. Not available for purchase online. Subject to availability. Contact us below for availability and to discuss your individual needs.

Tetra Hive ‘A’ Grade

$700

Fully functioning native bee hive with ‘A’ grade finish. Little to no signs of weathering with a great finish highlighting the natural colours of cypress.

Tetra Hive ‘B’ Grade

$650

Fully functioning native bee hive with all the features of our ’A’ grade hives and just as solid. Some signs of ageing aesthetically. Some tape residue markings.

Tetra Hive ‘C’ grade

$600

Fully functioning native bee hive with all the features of our ‘A’ grade hives and just as solid. Aged appearance with little varnish and large amount of tape residue present.

Currently Out Of Stock

Tetra Native Bee Hive Design

Solid 50mm Cypress Pine Construction

Vertical split native stingless bee hive

Cypress pine has long been the ideal choice of timber for bee hive construction. Its natural rot and white ant resistant qualities make it an ideal choice when compared to other timbers. The 50mm thick cypress used in Tetra native bee hives ensures the hive remains well insulated and less susceptible to failure from extreme temperature variations.

Anti Slump Support Wires

Solid 50mm Cypress Pine Construction

Support wires inside the brood chamber of Native Stingless Bee Hives

Located within the hive are 18 support wires to help prevent the collapse of brood in hot weather conditions and during hive splitting. All joints throughout the hive are dowelled together to give a seamless, natural look.

Honey Super

Solid 50mm Cypress Pine Construction

Coated for Protection

All native bee hives come complete with a honey super separated from the main hive section by 10mm marine grade plywood. Given the option native stingless bees will use this section (when food sources are abundant) as a dedicated honey storage. The advantages of adding a honey super to your hive include greater food storage space for the bees, separation of food storage from brood (decreasing the possibility of hive slump/collapse) and providing the opportunity for owners to harvest honey.

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Coated for Protection

Stocked with Australian Stingless Bees

Coated for Protection

Native stingless bee hive coated in varnish

For extra protection against the elements Tetra native bee hives are coated with 3 coats of Intergrain UV ultra clear for a natural long lasting finish.

Painted Marine Ply Roof

Stocked with Australian Stingless Bees

Australian native stingless bee hive with green and brown roofs

For extra protection against the elements all native bee hives include a roof constructed from 10mm marine ply and coated in 3 coats of Dulux weathershield. Available in colours green or brown.

Stocked with Australian Stingless Bees

Australian native stingless bee hive with queen

All native bee hives come stocked with Australian stingless bees Tetragonula Carbonaria or Hockingsi. We will discuss with you your species preference and suitability prior to purchase.

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How To Transport And Position Your Native Bee Hive

We will have your native bee hive temporarily blocked off and ready for transport to its new location when you arrive to pick it up.

For optimal placement in its new location, we recommend you use the following guidelines. Place your hive off the ground in a position that receives morning sun with the hive entrance preferably facing between north and east. Native bees are very inactive below 18 degrees, so ensuring they receive some morning sun will help activate the hive. Ensure the hive is out of direct sun from mid day onwards during summer so the hive does not overheat.

It is important to scout out a suitable location within your yard a few days prior to picking up your native bee hive, as once opened it can be difficult to move. If you must move your hive after this do so slowly, half a metre every second day.

Three native Australian stingless bee hives sitting on a table

12 Month Native Bee Hive Warranty

Warranty Conditions

We inspect the health of all native bee hives before sale to ensure a good quantity of brood and bee activity. In the unlikely event the hive is unsuccessful within 12 months of purchase, we offer a replacement warranty providing the following conditions are met.

You are able to return the hive
The hive has not been exposed to pesticides or chemicals of any kind
The hive was not positioned in direct sunlight after 10am in summer
The hive has not been dropped or fallen from its location
You have not modified the hive structure in any way (eg drilling holes)
You have not attempted to split the hive
You have not attempted to harvest the honey
The hive was not kept outside the bees natural geographical range

Performing any of the above activities will void the hive warranty and a replacement will not be offered.

Several Native Stingless Bee Hives in Brisbane sitting on a bench in a garden

Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach out to us using the contact form below if you cannot find your answer.

Will I have to replace the queen in a native stingless bee hive?

Unlike European bees, if a native bee hive becomes queen-less due to death of the queen or the splitting of a hive, native stingless bees have a number of insurances in place.

In most cases within a healthy hive a number of virgin or unmated queens are present. Optimally one of these virgin queens will be elected by the workers to advance to the position of queen. She will perform a mating flight, mating only once before returning to the hive. Once mated her ability for flight is lost.

If there are no virgin queens within the hive for this to occur, usually a number of queen cells (larger cells filled with extra food) have been constructed by the workers as an added provision.

Finally, if no virgin queens exist and no virgin queen cells are present, the workers will construct an emergency queen cell by adding additional food supplies adjacent to a pre-existing fertilised cell.

The queen of a native stingless bee hive may live for up to a year or more, unlike worker bees which only average 100 days. In this time she may lay up to 300 eggs per day.

How many bees are in a native stingless bee hive?

It is estimated there a between 5000 and 10000 bees in an established hive of Tetragonula Carbonaria or Hockingsi. Most of these consist of worker bees, all of which are female. The worker bees perform various duties including brood (egg) construction, food handling and waste removal.

Towards the end of their 100 day life span, these worker bees graduate to foragers and begin venturing outside of the hive in search for resources. In a fully established native bee hive it is estimated only 1000 of the bees are foragers at any one time.

Male drones numbered in the hundreds are also present in the hive. These drones do not perform any of the duties carried out by the female workers and exist only to mate with the queen.

A single mated queen and a number of virgin queens complete the hierarchy as mentioned above.

Do I have to split my native stingless bee hive?

It is not necessary to split your hive once it is full. The bees will never abandon the hive in a swarm as European bees do. A mated queen can no longer fly, and native stingless bees are loyal to their queen.

They may however slowly split off and begin creating a new home in another suitable area within their flight range. When this occurs, stingless bees will slowly take resources from the original hive to a new location and once construction is complete, will escort a virgin queen from the original hive to the newly constructed hive.

This process will not be an obvious move and the original native bee hive will remain functioning as it always has.

Do I have to harvest the honey from a native stingless bee hive?

It is not necessary to harvest the honey from a native stingless bee hive. Stored honey is a valuable resource that the bees require to survive when outside resources are low or weather conditions do not permit foraging.

It is possible however to harvest up to 1kg per year in warmer climates from well established hives that produce excess to their requirements.

You may find your honey box is empty or even sealed off with propolis when you first purchase your hive. This is a normal occurrence and it may take stingless bees up to 12 months before they begin to utilise the available honey super.

If you check your honey super and its entrance has been unsealed and and the super lined with a thin coat of propolis, it is an indication it is being prepared by the bees for upcoming use.

My native bees are swarming, what should I do?

There are a number of swarm behaviours native stingless bees may exhibit including mating swarms, defensive swarms and fighting swarms. These can last from days to weeks and are all natural processes, however the latter of the two is more likely to impact the hive in a negative way.

When a fighting swarm occurs, stingless bees from an attacking hive attempt to take over a defending hive. Bees lock together in battle resulting in casualties numbering in the thousands. In most cases (but not always) fighting swarms consist of the slightly larger more aggressive Hockingsi species attempting to overtake an established hive of Carbonaria.

Sometimes the defending hive will seal the entrance of their hive with propolis in attempt to prevent the invasion. Although detrimental to the hive population, fighting swarms do not usually end in the hive dying out, and the stronger hive will prevail. It is important to note you may now have a different species of stingless bee than you originally had.

If you do not wish to allow this battle to occur or the swarm is affecting your property in a negative way it is sometimes possible to move the hive more than 1km away, wait at least six weeks, then return it to its home.

There is no activity from my native stingless bee hive is this ok?

In winter months or temperatures below 18 degrees native stingless bees are very inactive. The foraging native bees may not leave the hive at all and entrance guards may retreat deeper into the hive entrance.

This behaviour is also common on rainy or overly windy days. Although entrance holes are drilled at a steep upward angle, in extreme rain conditions native bees may even choose to block this opening with propolis to prevent water from entering.

If the weather is calm and warm and there is still no activity, there may be a problem with your hive.

Can I still have my house sprayed for pests if I own a native stingless bee hive?

It is still possible to have the inside of your house sprayed if you own a native bee hive, however we recommend you avoid having the outside sprayed. Native bees are very sensitive to pesticides and the death of a hive caused from pesticide will not be covered under warranty.

If the outside of your house (or close neighbours house) is sprayed on a windy day, it is possible chemicals could travel far enough to cause the death of a hive. Communication with the contractor hired to carry out the spray and close neighbours is important.

If you must spray the outside of your house avoid the use of systemic pesticides. Systemic pesticides such as Fipronil (found in Termidor) have the ability to infect an entire plant and some are also transferable between the infected species of insect. If just one native bee then becomes contaminated the entire native bee hive may perish.

Is there any other maintenance required in owning a native stingless bee hive?

We recommend giving the outside of your hive a wipe down with a wet rag every so often to remove unwanted dirt and cobwebs. You may wish to use a mild detergent and warm water to assist in cleaning, however avoid water around the entrance.

Keeping your hive clean will prevent unwanted pests from gathering around the hive and help extend the life of its protective coating. Other than this, there is nothing that needs to be done. Your native bee hive should provide years of enjoyment and benefit both your garden and community, whilst supporting the conservation of our native stingless bees.

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Tetra Native Bee Honey

Tetra Native Bee Honey

Native Stingless Bee Hives

Why Keep Australian Native Stingless Bees?

Hives, Honey and Pollination

Native Bee Hive Price List

Tetra Hive

Tetra Hive ‘A’ Grade

Tetra Hive ‘B’ Grade

Tetra Hive ‘C’ grade

Tetra Native Bee Hive Design

Solid 50mm Cypress Pine Construction

Solid 50mm Cypress Pine Construction

Solid 50mm Cypress Pine Construction

Anti Slump Support Wires

Solid 50mm Cypress Pine Construction

Solid 50mm Cypress Pine Construction

Honey Super

Solid 50mm Cypress Pine Construction

Coated for Protection

Coated for Protection

Stocked with Australian Stingless Bees

Coated for Protection

Painted Marine Ply Roof

Stocked with Australian Stingless Bees

Stocked with Australian Stingless Bees

Stocked with Australian Stingless Bees

Stocked with Australian Stingless Bees

Stocked with Australian Stingless Bees

Native Stingless Bees at Work

How To Transport And Position Your Native Bee Hive

12 Month Native Bee Hive Warranty

Warranty Conditions

Frequently Asked Questions

Tetragonula Carbonaria Queen Bee

Read More About Australia's Native Stingless Bees

The Unique Properties of Stingless Bee Honey

Native Bee Gift Packs

To enquire about purchasing your own native bee hive please contact us by filling out the below form and we will be in contact with you shortly

Tetra Native Bee Honey

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