An abundance of bees is one of the most exciting things for a gardener. However, while we talk about and admire the introduced honeybee, we often neglect to notice or perhaps have no knowledge of, our native bees. The obsession with the honeybee perhaps feeds our lack of knowledge. However, as we develop our gardens and farms, we’re in a great position to support the unassuming ngaro huruhuru – native bees.
Looking to extend my limited understanding of these native bees, I was lucky enough to have a chat to, Dr Ngaire Hart. An engineer, environmental scientist and ngaro huruhuru expert, Ngaire was happy to share her knowledge.
When Ngaire first started studying ngaro huruhuru in the early 2000s, there was very little published on our bees, and even today there is still not a huge body of work in the area. After trialing different ways to track bees, Ngaire designed her PhD to measure bee populations by capturing data on the number of active nests of ground-nesting bees.
Species of ngaro huruhuru
Aotearoa NZ has only two main families of ngaro huruhuru; Colletidae and Halictidae. Both families are described as primitive (have not changed markedly over time). There are currently 28 recognised species of native bees; 27 are endemic species (occur only in NZ) and one species is also found in Australia.
Ngaire says that ngaro huruhuru may be mistaken as small flies, and often go unnoticed because of their size and colour. They can be anywhere from 4-12 mm long and are mostly black in colour. They are not aggressive and while they do have the ability to sting, she says it is doubtful you would feel it.
Ngaro huruhuru fall into two broad categories; the ground-nesting species Leioproctus and Lasioglossum, and the wood-nesting species Hylaeus, who construct their nests in hollow plant materials.
Ground nesting bees
You may recognise the Leioproctus females from their nest building activities as they will dig a tunnel in a bank or ground to lay an egg and then collect pollen from around the area for the larvae to feed on when they hatch.
Their nests will appear as tiny holes and Ngaire says, that while they will nest in any ground, they particularly like patches of bare soil and are sometimes found in sandpits, playgrounds, golf courses, roadside verges and people’s lawns.
The ground-nesting Lasiogolssum, are commonly called a sweat bee because they like to land on you and suck the sweat off your skin. Ngaire says that these are very tiny bees. They are 4-8 mm long.
Wood-nesting bees
Hylaeus, are commonly called masked bees because they have a marking on their face. They are hairless and don’t look like a bee. To the untrained eye, they may look more like a wasp. They nest in plant material, such as the dead kōrari (flower stem of the flax).
Observing bees
To find ngaro huruhuru, Ngaire says it’s about learning where they might be and going out and looking for them in your own backyard. Quite often they are there, but we just don’t notice them.
Look for them foraging on plants during summer. Go out and find harakeke, kānuka and mānuka – pause, stand still for a while and watch – if they are there, you will see them foraging. They are much smaller and tend to stay on a flower longer and sometimes you can see the females with pollen on their legs. Male colletids may be spotted as mating swards around scrubby areas and gorse and Ngaire suggests you look for movement.
Threats to ngaro huruhuru
Habitat loss, pollutants and competition with non-native species are all threats to these animals. We need to be aware of things like roadside verges being sprayed when ngaro huruhuru are emerging – gardeners have been known to mistake them for wasps when they mass and mistakenly kill them.
The population of bees in the sites Ngaire has been studying is not increasing and, in some places, it is declining. It is possibly the same elsewhere, with changing landscapes and habitat fragmentation.
Supporting bees to thrive
To support ngaro huruhuru in our gardens, it is important to try not to disturb their habitat. For example, some bees nest in old wooden cavities such as old logs or kōrari so Ngaire suggests leaving the kōrari on your flax to age and when you do remove them, put them somewhere for the bees to nest in.
It is also an idea to plan your garden with more than just aesthetics in mind – plant more bee-friendly plants and natives and keep things organic and insect-friendly – using weedkillers in your garden might be killing a lot more than your weeds.
Become a ngaro huruhuru advocate
Ngaro huruhuru also need us to advocate for them – learn and speak up about these unassuming creatures because, as Ngaire says, it is hard to care about something you do not know about. Another option is to support and get involved in community science. Ngaire is supportive of community science taking the lead to understand what is happening to our bee populations.
So, it seems like a good time to focus on our small unassuming ngaro huruhuru, learn more about them and provide habitats and plantings for them in our gardens.
For lots of great posters and resources visit Kaitiaki Creations
Ngaro hurururu photos courtesy of Dr Ngaire Hart
flowering bean organic gardens 