Apis aenigmata- Interview with Pierre
On my recent trip up north to visit Dave Jensen I went to Visit Pierre. Pierre remembers encountering a type of honey bee that was native to Australia in the early settlement days. I love stories of old and jumped at the opportunity to go film him.
Pierre is not his real name, he asked off camera to not be named. He feels it was him, and many other bee keepers, that made the Australian honey bee extinct- by repeatedly re-queening them with European honey bee queens. Here is his video below. Turn subtitles on by selecting “CC” icon down the bottom right of video.
History of Apis aenigmata
Many believe that an Australian honey bee did not exist, however there is some documentation to suggest that they did. The book below written by Tarlton Rayment – “Cluster of bees” – gives very accurate descriptions of stingless bees. Tarlton knew a lot about Apis bees.
Upon seeing and drawing this little bee, Tarlton named it Apis aenigmata. Have a read of Tarlton’s story and you might learn something new.
Bees are declining in numbers every day. Maybe one day you will have a story of a bee that doesn’t exist anymore.
What is truly in decline is our native pollinators. Let’s do what we can to provide homes for them and teach our children about them.
Thought provoking interview Nick
Raise a few eyebrows I think. ?