[3] Tetragonula hockingsi is a stingless bee, and thus belongs to the tribe Meliponini, which includes about 500 species.

[6] The subgenus Tetragonula includes about 30 other stingless bee species that are found in Oceania, in countries ranging from Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, and The Solomon Islands.

The side of the thorax is densely and evenly covered with fine, short hair, which distinguishes the species from T. clypearis and T. sapiens.

The malar space is also hairy and relatively long, and the mesoscutum does not have distinct glabrous bands.

[2] The combs of the nest are extremely important as they provide the substrate on which workers live, food is stored and the brood is reared.

Further, the wax itself plays a vital role in the dispersal of pheromones and creates a specific nest odour.

[4] As is typical in stingless bees, individual workers make decisions that affect the foraging patterns of the colony.

T. hockingsi colonies show distinct diurnal patterns of foraging, determined by environmental cues such as resource availability, solar radiation, temperature, and wind speed.

Tetragonula hockingsi is a generalist species, meaning they can thrive in various environmental conditions by making use of many different resources.

Intercolony battles in Tetragonula bees can even result in the usurpation of the defeated hive by the winning colony, which then assumes the territory, resources, and nest.

A common strategy is that T. hockingsi workers eject T. carbonaria young adults from the hive, which results in a shorter and less costly fight.

The T. hockingsi colony still takes control of the hive entrance, but many fewer bees die in this type of battle.

[3] In the fighting swarms between Tetragonula colonies, the attacking hive faces an immense risk of death of its workers.

Fatal fighting is not common in nature, and the evolution may be due to the value of the resource exceeding the value of the individual worker's life.

The benefits to each individual in the attacking hive of gaining resources and colony security must outweigh the risks of a substantial loss of workers.