Bees in Perth & WA: Keeping, Natives and What to Plant

Which bees live here, whether you can keep them, and how the season works in your part of Australia.

Hives at the edge of a jarrah forest in WA

Stingless bees: not here. Winters are too cold for Tetragonula colonies. Your native bee action is solitary species, which need no hive at all, just flowers and nesting habitat (see below).

The bees you will see in Perth

Tap any bee for identification details. Images are AI-generated illustrations.

Keeping bees here

WA is a beekeeping treasure: varroa-free (strict border controls exist to keep it that way), with legendary honeys like jarrah and marri. Hive brands must be applied within 7 days of acquiring a hive, and bringing bees or used gear across the border is heavily restricted, buy local. Perth itself has no stingless bees (the WA species live in the far north), but solitary natives are everywhere.

Registration: required in Western Australia before your first honey bee hive. Details, costs and links on the state registration guide. Stingless bees never require registration.

Swarm season

August to October. If a swarm lands in your garden, here is what to do.

The flying year

Jarrah and marri flowering (roughly December to February in good years) is the famous flow. Long dry summers demand reliable water at the apiary.

Plant for your bees

Bees need flowers in every season, and your vegetable garden can supply most of them. Borage, lavender, rosemary, alyssum and sunflowers carry the gaps between crop flowering. The Perth & WA grow guide shows exactly what to plant this month, and the free app turns it into a plan.

Keep records the easy way. The Planting Season beekeeping app logs inspections, varroa washes and harvests per hive, with reminders tuned to Perth & WA. Free to start.

More bee regions

South East Queensland North Queensland Northern Rivers NSW Sydney & Coastal NSW Melbourne & Victoria Adelaide & SA Perth & WA Canberra & ACT Tasmania Darwin & Top End

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Images on this page are AI-generated illustrations.