Bees are gentle creature who do so much for the garden . All they ask in paying back is some pollen and ambrosia ! If you have some bustling bees in your garden , distinguishing between the unlike type of bee can aid you check that you ’re embed the right case of prime for them . Let ’s detect out what fuzzy fly visitor you have in your garden !
Bees are one of my favourite community extremity . These fuzzy yellow and smutty creatures work on hard topollinate my garden and make it bountiful and beautiful . Whenever I ’m out work in the garden and a bee kibosh toadmire a floweralongside me , I take a here and now toadmire the bee .
BC is home to near 500 species of bees . In fact , it ’s the province with the in high spirits diversity of bee in all of Canada . I turn over myself very favourable to subsist in such a bee - friendly space and have meet all kinds call my garden . But I myself am no true bee expert .
Common eastern bumblebee
Today , I had to fetch in the bee big guns!Lori Weidenhammeris the President and Co - Chair of theNative Bee Society of British Columbia . I’ve talked to Lori before about bees and she helped me out when writingThe Regenerative Garden . She is also the author ofVictory Gardens for bee : A DIY Guide to lay aside the Bees . With those certification , you may see she knows quite a act about these niggling ladies !
She was kind enough to utter with me again and provide slews of fantabulous bee information so you canfigure out which of the little creatures belongs to your garden .
This billet will cover …
The Types of Bee Families
Every bee belong to to one of thesix bee families . Just like plants , they fall under a folk , genus , and species . For instance , the yellow - face bumblebee species is part of the bumblebee genus and the Apidae kin .
6 Different Types of Bees You Should Know
In the world , there are over20,000 species of bee . So , for obvious , reasons , we ’re not going to go over them all ! fortuitously , Lori is here to assure us which bee are the best to get set off with .
Honeybee
When people recall of a bee , most people directly picture a Apis mellifera . Originally native to Europe and Asia , they were imported in the 1800s to North America . Now , they’reone of the most common bees people will see in their backyard .
“ The way to identify a female Apis mellifera is by seem at that back stage . The tibia has a flat triangular social organisation , ” tell Lori . “ I often think honeybees look like they ’re full of nectar because they have thisamber colour and brownish or black stripe on their abdomen . They carry pollen on their back leg in minuscule pollen mob . you could see the pollen basket which is a shining part on the flatten part of the back stage fringed by long fuzz call setae . ”
Out of all the species in the world , only nine really make honey . Honeybees are a little out of the average when it comes to evolution . They can store intellectual nourishment for long period of time in the form of honey . And that ’s why you’re able to get them all over the world ! They ’re easy to put into beehive and their nests can be moved which is strange for bees .
Apis mellifera have large colonies of 1000s of bees with one queen , male trailer , and worker bees .
“ Honeybees and bumblebees have queens , but most bee are lone . distaff solitary bee are just single mama feed their babies , ” says Lori . “ With bee in general , it ’s mostly the females that do all the employment . They lay the ball , they provision the nest , and they sometimes make or get hold nest . The males are just there for pairing and feeding . Sometimes male have a protective part and will defend a while of blossom to bounce other bees out so their bee can cover and feast in their prefer area . ”
Bumblebees
Bumblebees are another nesting enclosed space bee with much pocket-size colonies of 50 to 500 and one queen regnant . In the spring , you ’ll begin to see the fagot looking for sites to show their nest . While they principally draw close underground , they will also cuddle in bird nests , vacuous trees , and anything big enough for their babies .
Lori observe , “ If there ’s a place in your garden where a mouse has made a nest or hole , in the fountain the queens will come out low to the terra firma to bet . While search , it seem like a sniffing or trolling behaviour as they look for a suitable nest . Once they go down in the hole , the queen starts making wax mass and laying her eggs . ”
“ On bumblebee , sometimes you’re able to see them carrying pollen on their back legs . you may see the pollen grain , which come in a rainbow of colours . Bees carry pollen on different parts of their body according to what mintage they are . ”
One of the most common bees in BC is theyellow - face bumblebee , Bombus vosnesenskii . It has a yellow face and shoulders on a mostly black body , and then the females will have a yellow stripe near the tip of the stomach and the male will sometimes have more yellow on their sides and abdomen .
Other mutual type of humblebee includeyellow - face bumblebee(Bombus flavifrons),fuzzy - horned bumblebee(Bombus mixtus ) , andblack - tailed bumblebee(Bombus melanopygus ) . But reckon on where you ’re from , you ’ll see unlike types of bumblebee .
Mason Bee
Mason bees are a eccentric of unfrequented bee that nest in smaller cavities . They’re known for using mud and other materials to make their nest .
In BC , you ’ll likely discern the down in the mouth orchard mason bee , Osmia lignaria . “They issue forth out in April and May and pollinate the yield trees like cherry tree and apple Tree , ” says Lori . “ Sometimes , they ’re also called the haired venter bees since they collect pollen on their belly . ”
“ This is the bee that peoplemake little condosand holes for . The bee goes into the tunnel and put down an orchis , then go and collects mud to make a wall . Then , she ’ll place another egg on top of more pollen that she ’s gather and makes the wall . And that goes all along the tube . ”
Leafcutter Bee
In the same family line ( Megachilidae ) as the mason bee , you have leafcutter bees . A type of nongregarious bee , leafcutter bees nest in cavities and collect parts of folio to wrap their larvae in .
“ You will often detect these bee making holes in your pink wine leaves , They cut pieces of leaves , and like a mason bee , will draw close and lay egg in tunnels with these leaves . But do n’t worry , it does n’t hurt the flora ! It ’s just their way of gathering material in the garden , ” says Lori .
Sweat Bee
lather bees get their name as some member of the genus actually drub humansweat to get mineral . These bees hump plants in the Aster or Asteraceae family , as do leafcutters .
In BC , you ’ll belike occur across theTexas stripy sweat bee , Agapostemon texanus . “ A Texas denude sweat bee is a verycharismatic , bright beethat you will see in your garden , ” says Lori . “ The female person is completely unripe and the male ’s abdomen has yellow and white stripes on the back . ”
Nomad Bee
A solitary bee , nomad bees are kleptoparasites . Waspy take care , they ’re actuallyparasites to different bee . They will take over nest and use up resource compile by other bee .
“ There ’s a whole series of bees know as cuckoo bee . And just like twat birds , theylay their egg in the nest of other bees and take them over , ” enunciate Lori .
What Is the Best Thing We Can Do for the Bees in Our Garden?
The bees involve our help more than ever ! From the winter of 2018 to 2019 , honey bee numbersdropped a drastic 40%.Many crop and flowers rely on bee for pollenation , mean we will go to see the impact even on our food market shelves .
“ Most native bee can not lay in food , ” says Lori . “ They need something to be bloom all the timesince they are out gathering nectar and pollen . So that ’s why it ’s really important to have somethingblooming early in the leap to the first frost . If they do n’t have those flowers blooming , then they ’re out of luck . ”
Besides succession planting and tot native plant life , you could alsoinclude a bee bathin your garden as a place for bees to stop and catch a drink and abug hotel for solitary beesto make a nest in .
you may alsojoin citizen science projects and take pictures of bees to help scientistsfind out how many bee are hanging out in your vicinity . TheiNaturalist projectis a majuscule blank space to start ( check out The Native Bee Society of BC ’s Bee Tracker Project on iNaturalisthere . )
turn back out local organizationslike theNative Bee Society of British Columbiawhere you’re able to unite with expert in your community about how to help local bees .
Lori ’s playscript , Victory Gardens for Bees : A DIY Guide for make unnecessary the Beesis out of print , but you could check it out at your local program library .
Frequently Asked Questions About the Different Types of Bees
The most common bees a gardener would total across admit bumblebees , honeybee , mason bees , leafcutter bee , stew bees , and nomad bees .
Bees that nest directly in the soil are known as mining bee . Over 70 % of bees nest in the ground . You ’ll also find sudor bees , mason bee , leafcutter bees , digger bee , bumblebee in surreptitious cavities , and nomad bee taking over mining bee ’ nest .
Throughout the world , there are over 20,000 species of bees . In North America , there are 4,337 aboriginal bee metal money .
Thanks again to Lori from the Native Bee Society of British Columbia for talking to me all about bees ! Be sure to check them out for talk by bee experts and their workshops . And if you ’re in BC , believe contributing to theirbee tracking project .
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