Bees, Wasps, and Bumblebees
A lot of people have difficulty telling the difference between Bees, wasps and bumblebees.
Bees are a bit furry and can vary in color from almost almost black to pale yellow with black bands. They only sting in self defense and will die after stinging as the barbed sting will rip out of the bee's body. Bees feed on nectar and pollen from flowers. A beehive (nest) will continue year after year. There are no feral nests now in New Zealand.
Wasps are yellow and black with no fur. and are longer and slimmer. Wasps can sting multiple times as their stinger has no barb. When wasps are feeding their larvae they will eat protein (meat) later on in the season they will only eat nectar or other sugar sources (Fruit etc). At the end of summer a wasp nest will die off and the queen wasp will hibernate until spring.
Bumblebees are very furry and are short and fat with stubby wings They can also sting multiple times but generally do not sting unless their nest is disturbed. Bumblebees eat pollen and nectar as bees do. Bumblebee nests do not survive winter and the queen bumble bee will hibernate until spring.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
💨 Wellington: Is the real summer finally here?
It’s the talk of the town (and every coffee queue): the Wellington "summer" has felt more like a very long, very damp spring! 🌧️ We’ve definitely had our fair share of grey skies and raincoats lately.
In fact, The Post reports that our "pretty average" summer has been tough on the local venues and events that usually thrive under the sun. But don't pack away the sunscreen just yet!
The good news? The next couple of weeks are looking a bit more "settled" (the Wellington word for "not a gale-force downpour"). With autumn officially here, now is the time to squeeze every last drop out of the season! ☀️
Any local hidden spots or activities you’d recommend for a calm Wellington day? Drop them in the comments! 👇
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Hi neighbours!
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Serving all of Wellington, Hutt Valley & up to Plimmerton.
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