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Trigonid Bees
Photo: Courtesy of
Naturalist Guide Damon Ramsey
Trigonid Bees: Native Bees, Sweat Bees,
Sugarbags, Stingless Bees
Trigonid are usually small dark insects that many people
presume are some sort of fly. They often appear colourful, but closer inspection
reveals this to be pollen collected on the body. These bees are stingless and
only annoy humans when drinking sweat of their bodies, and giving rise to one of
the common names of sweat bees'.
Trigonids are found in the
rainforests of the southern continents. They usually make wax nests in tree
hollows. In South-east Asia, their nests are more obvious as they often build
funnel entrances, which are then sealed up every night. Trigonids are bees, and
as such, still collect nectar from flowers. The aboriginals searched for the
nests to obtain honey and referred to them as `sugarbags'. The watery honey was
also an important food source for early European colonists.
Family Trigonidae
 Most
of the native bees in the Daintree, and other parts of Australia, are small and
stingless. The trigonid bees are small, dark bees that resemble flies and can
sometimes have the same annoying habit of hovering around humans to drink the
sweat off their bodies, and giving rise to one of the common names of ‘sweat
bees’. The family is found in the rainforests and woodlands of the tropical
Americas, Asia and Australia. They usually make wax nests in tree hollows and in
the Daintree these nests can sometimes be seen on outside wooden tables and
other buildings (right).
Script courtesy
of Naturalist Guide Damon Ramsey
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