Millions of years ago when plant world started to produce pollen for reproduction there was a parallel evolution of pollinators. The variety of plants that used this method of reproduction number in the millions as do the pollinators that evolved with them. These insects and birds and various mammals help the evolution of these plants and help to spread and create the many different flowers and foods we experience today.

Plants produce flowers, which have parts that are covered in pollen. The flower also produces nectar which attracts animals and insect to it’s sweetness. As the nectar is gathered, the flower drops pollen onto the insect or animal so as it goes to the next flower the pollen is passed on from flower to flower. This is the basic method of plant reproduction which hasn’t really changed for the past 100 million years or so. It’s been a long time for this relationship to grow and as the diversity of plants change as does the diversity of pollinators. Some plants have developed sch unique flowers that only an animal with those certain unique attributes can gather the nectar and therefore pollinate the flower. “Specific pollinators for specific pollen’s”.

As with the variety of plants the variety of bees has also developed on all continents in the world in all climates except the polar regions. There are over 20,000 different types of bee’s in the world. They belong to the family Anthophila, (monophyletic lineage) which is closely related to the wasps. They are commonly separated by the fact that they do not eat prey and can produce wax and feed their young pollen.

Australia has over 2000 different types of bees most of which are solitary bees. Some of Austarlias native bees are stingless and do produce honey. These bees are (tetragonula carbonaria) starting to be kept by people who are allergic to bees but want to keep bees in the backyards. The honey is very different to euro honey bees, It is more fluid and tastes quite medicinal, not quite as sweet. It has been used by the indigenous for thousands of years and has medicinal property’s that have yet to be known. The wax was also used in boat building and weaponry.