2262 days ago

Bees, Wasps, and Bumblebees

Rod from Hive World Honey

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.

More messages from your neighbours
1 day ago

Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? ๐Ÿ›ป๐Ÿšจ๐Ÿš“

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?

What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?

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If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? ๐Ÿ›ป๐Ÿšจ๐Ÿš“
  • 36.4% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
    36.4% Complete
  • 63.6% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
    63.6% Complete
428 votes
5 days ago

Scam Alert: Bank cold calls

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

ASB is warning customers about reports of cold calls from scammers claiming to be from ASB. These scammers are trying to obtain personal information, including usernames, dates of birth, and verification codes sent to your mobile phone.

๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ The "Caller Check" Test
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from ASB and youโ€™re unsure, just ask them for a Caller Check. You will then be able to verify the call through the app.

Remember, banks will:โ€‹โ€‹
โŒ Never ask for your banking passwords, PINs, or verification codesโ€‹โ€‹
โŒ Never need to know your full credit card number โ€“ especially the CVC
โŒ Never ask you to download software or remotely access your deviceโ€‹โ€‹
โŒ Never ask you to purchase gift cards or transfer funds.

If you have received a phone call and think your account has been compromised, call ASB on 0800 ASB FRAUD (0800 272 372), or visit your local branch.

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8 days ago

Some Choice News!

Kia pai from Sharing the Good Stuff

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, weโ€™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 โ€” and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?

We hope this brings a smile!

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