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1801 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
6 hours ago

Calling All Puzzle Masters! Can You Solve This?

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

When John was six years old he hammered a nail into his favorite tree to mark his height.
Ten years later at age sixteen, John returned to see how much higher the nail was.
If the tree grew by five centimetres each year, how much higher would the nail be?

Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.

Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

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6 hours ago

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15 days ago

What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?

Mei Leng Wong Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.

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