#typesofbees

[kentuckypollinatorresearch]

Hey all! There are THOUSANDS of species of bees in North America (USDA-NRCS, 2016d). Look out for small bees flying out from the ground and try to identify them if you can! If you take photos of them, you can post them to iNaturalist for experts to identify and for advice. This could help you pick out flowers that are specifically good for those bees! 

[save-the-bees19]

American Bumblebee (Bombus pennsylvanicus)

Large in size

black fuzz right behind the wings

1-3 stripes of yellow fuzz on abdomen

Use nectar to make small amounts of honey, but don’t create large honeycombs for long-term storage like Honeybees, not harvested for human consumption

Have pollen pockets behind their back legs to store pollen grains collected from flowers

Shake out pollen from flowers’ anthers by rapidly vibrating their bodies, making a sound similar to the buzzing when flying

Mostly emerge from May-October

Every species likes to eat clover, though some species prefer specific flowers

Numbers have severely declined close to extinction in northern America with quickly dwindling numbers in the south

[save-the-bees19]

Colletes

469 known species and an estimated 700

Similar shape to honeybee

Heart shaped face and flat body

Have eyes that are angled outward rather than parallel

Can be found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere

Nest in aggregations in the ground, with cells lined with a cellophane-like plastic secretion, a true polyester

Have black and white banding on the abdomen

[save-the-bees19]

Nomad Bees (Genus Nomada) 

Small or medium in size

Appear wasp-like, with red or red and black wings and often yellow markings on their body and legs

Some can be yellow and black with white markings on their body

Females have hair patches at the tip of their abdomens, males have a protective notched layer over their abdomen

Widespread in North America but some species can be found in various places around the world

Most species emerge in spring, but there are some that wait until summer or even fall

Both sexes are responsible for harvesting their own food 

Males mimic the odors of the female that they are attracted to and guard her nest

[save-the-bees19]

Sunflower Bees (Diadasia)

42 known species

Oligolectic, specialized to a relatively small number of plant species, mostly sunflowers

In the Sonoran Desert, Diadasia rinconis is considered the “cactus bee”, almost exclusively on certain Sonoran Desert cactus species

Lifecycles revolve around plants that each species pollinates exclusively 

[save-the-bees19]

Stenotritidae Bee

Only 21 species, all restricted to Australia

Smallest of all formally recognized, fast-flying, very hairy

Burrow in the ground, line their cells with waterproof secretion

We have found cells in the Pleistocene of the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia

[save-the-bees19]

Andrena Bees

Also known as the mining bee

Widespread in Canada and northern US

Black, with striped abdomen and fuzzy face and chest

Females dig tunnels in the ground that branch off into individual cells

each cell is stocked with nectar and pollen, and then eggs are laid later on top

Have short, pointed tongues that are pretty unsuitable for foraging

some species have adapted to have a longer tongue for gathering from certain flowers

Females tuck pollen under their armpits

Non-Aggressive unless provoked

Milwaukee Mining Bee is most responsible for pollinating blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, pears, and apples

[save-the-bees19]

Carpenter Bees

Have shiny hairless abdomens

Create tunnel-style homes in wood, typically alone in the winter months, and come out for mating in the spring and summer

entrances are perfectly circular and about the diameter of the average pinky finger tip

leaves sawdust under hole

after digging a short way perpendicular with the wood, the bees make a 90 degree turn and dig parallel with the woods surface, where they build ~5 cells to lay eggs

Can cause cosmetic and structural damage over time due to their tunnels being reused and enlarged for years

Males lack ability to sting and like to guard their homes, typically hovering close to humans to try to intimidate them

Females are not aggressive but will sting if they are handled and irritated