Crowds of people aren't the only ones swarming to the Floriade, with stingless bees braving the Canberra cold and making an appearance at this year's flower show.
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Also known as the sugarbag bee, the small dark bees are native to Australia.
Clayridge Honey owner Matthew Hird said the bees are ideal for pollination in backyard gardens and can be found across the east coast of Australia.
"You can find them mainly in the warmer areas; Canberra's a little bit too cold for them," Mr Hird said.
"We've had to put a blanket on them overnight to keep them warm - only because of the minus 2 degrees in the morning."
Mr Hird said the stingless bees live up to a hundred days, compared to European bees which live for 50 days.
"They can't hurt you at all, because they don't have a sting," he said.
"They're as big as a fly - they're tiny little things compared to a normal European bee which is double the height."
He said the idea of bringing them to the show was to show people a different variety of bee.
"Everyone's used to seeing the black and yellow one in their gardens but these little things are amazing for what they can do for the environment."
Mr Hird hopes the display at Floriade will encourage people to put a hive in their backyard to help with the world bee shortage.
There are more than 1500 species of Australian Native Bees.
In the ACT, you must register as a beekeeper if you have beehives located in the ACT.
Native Stingless Bees
- To transform from an egg to an adult takes 50 days;
- The bee then lives for 100 days;
- Fly up to 500m from the hive to gather nectar, pollen and tree resin;
- They produce approximately 1-2kg of honey a year.
Honey Bee
- To transform from an egg to an adult bee takes 21 days;
- The bee then lives for 50 days;
- Fly up to 3km to collect nectar and pollen;
- They produce approximately 150kg of honey a year.
Floriade will run until October 15.
