It’s Sunday- and you know what that means! Crazy insects. I know I haven’t been very active on my blog lately- I’m really sorry for that, I’ve been really busy with school and awfully sick lately.
Yesterday I was sitting in the garden, just watching the morning sunrise. I heard a faint buzzing- and looked to my left to see 3 honeybees sipping nectar from this plant, which is apparently a natural mosquito repellent. It has a strong, pungent smell- but I forgot all about the smell as I watched and photographed them fly from flower to flower.
Common Asian honeybee
Just as I was compiling this post, I went to the garden to see if they were there. They are still there now and I bet it’s the same 3 that I saw yesterday!
I recently got the NSS Field Guide to Bees and Wasps of Singapore, and found out that the bees were the Common Asian honeybees (Apis cerana). They are solitary bees that nest in cavities such as tree hollows and crevices. They are not really aggressive unless provoked or in bad weather/ in the evening. I got quite close to them but they ignored me completely as they continued to suck the nectar.
I find that bees and wasps are quite an interesting group of insects, and it’s sad that they are often misunderstood- despite their importance in the environment. Imagine, without them pollinating- we would not be able to eat fruits and honey! They are such valuable creatures, yet so little has been written and studied about the bees and wasps in Singapore and the South East Asian region, according to the field guide.
People often think that they are nasty and ‘out to get you’- but really, just like most insects, if you don’t disturb them and maintain a certain distance they won’t attack. In fact if you see solitary bees, as I just did, the chances of them attacking you are very low. Bees will only get aggressive or sting in defence of their nest.
So next time you see a bee- don’t be afraid to look a little closer to see its beauty! It’s really fascinating to see them pollinate and drink nectar from flowers.
My Nature Experiences 
What’s that plant? It sounds very useful! Really fantastic post, pollinator conservation is such an important topic, need to combat pesticide overuse, you are doing such great work spreading the word! Have you ever thought about making a home (nest for their eggs) for the solitary bees? I’ve made a couple along the lines of those shown here, it’s been fascinating to see different sized holes being filled….http://resonatingbodies.wordpress.com/resources/building-houses-for-native-bees/
Hi Alistair, Thank you so much for your comment 🙂 I have no idea what plant it is.. the nursery gave it to us saying it was a ‘mosquito repellent’ plant- but I’m not sure of the exact species. Your blogpost was really interesting, I’d love to try it one day! Our garden attracts a lot of bees other than the honeybees- so it would be interesting to see them nest. Thanks so much for the idea! -Lavanya