Bees are the darlings of the insect world.  It is a great joy to see these tenaciousinsects hard at work, peacefully buzzing from flower to flower on warm andsunny days.  Many people recognise theworth of bees, as well as that they face many threats. But very few know aboutthe diversity and importance of our native bee species. There are an estimated2000 to 3000 bee species in Australia, yet we know very little about the vastmajority of these and there are many that are yet to be described.

Bees of Australiaintroduces some of our incredible native bees, many of which, if you lookclosely, can be found in your own garden. Open this book wherever you like orread it from cover to cover. The combination of photography and contributionsfrom many of Australia's leading bee researchers allows anyone to becomeenthralled by our native bees. Don't be surprised if you find yourself lookingcloser at every flower that you pass in search of our wonderful native bees.