I love bees. They are perhaps the busiest, most productive of all insects and it's always a buzz (pardon the pun!) to get a good shot of one at work. Australia has over 1500 species of native bees. They come in a myriad of colours and their size ranges from 2mm to 24mm. Some have thick furry coats while others are smooth and highly polished. The best-known bee in Australia is the yellow-brown commercial honey bee. It is not a native bee as it was introduced from Europe about 1822 to produce honey for the pioneers. Bees love lavender as you can see by the majority of these shots. The subject of bees is huge, and requires much reading.