IMG_2570 Honey bee (Apis mellifera) Apiarist Carl Thomson examines a frame of bees from a hive at Hanmer. European Honeybees were first introduced into New Zealand in 1839 *

DSC_5328 Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris audax) queen. This bumblebee has the shortest tongue of the four species introduced, and has become the most abundant throughout NZ. Bumblebee tongue length differs from species to species, which is why four species of Bombus were introduced from England in 1885 and 1906 - for the pollination and seed production of red clover - although it was advised against introducing this species because of its comparatively shorter tongue. Also known as the large earth bumblebee. Dunedin *