Can You Tell The Difference Between Bees?
What kind of bees are in YOUR backyard?
What Kind of Bees Do You Have?
The first step in managing bees is identifying the types of bees and other stinging insects you’re dealing with.
Honey bees and bumble bees are essential pollinators, while yellow jackets and paper wasps can be more aggressive. Ground bees and carpenter bees also require different approaches.
Knowing the specific area where bees are most active can help in choosing the best way to deter them. The following is a brief overview of the most commonly found bees.
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Honeybees are the most well-known and essential pollinators. They are medium-sized insects, typically measuring about 0.5 to 0.6 inches in length.
They have a distinctive coloration, with golden-brown bodies and alternating dark brown to black strips on their abdomens.
Honeybees have six legs equipped with structures that are used for carrying pollen back to the hive.
The queen bee is the largest in the colony and she plays an important role in egg production.
Did you know that the queen honey bee can lay up to 2000 eggs per day? The other bees in a typical colony include the worker bees and the drone bees.
Bumble Bees (Genus Bombus)
Bumble bees are generally larger than honey bees, ranging from 0.6 to 1 inch in length.
They have a distinct coloration of black and yellow banding on their bodies. Their bodies are covered in dense, soft hairs (known as setae) that give them a fuzzy appearance.
Carpenter Bees (Genus Xylocopa)
Carpenter bees are large and solitary. They typically have shiny, black bodies, although some species may have metallic blue, green, or purple hues.
Male carpenter bees often have lighter-colored markings on their faces.
They can be mistaken for bumble bees because of their size and coloration.
Bumble bees, however, are social insects that live in colonies. Carpenter bees, however, would rather live alone.
If you have an infestation in your home, they’re not likely carpenter bees.
Ground Bees (Various Genera)
Ground bees, also known as mining bees or digger bees, vary in size.
They typically range in size from 0.2 to 0.8 inches in length and are often brown, black, or metallic in color. Some species may have yellow, white, or red markings on their bodies.
One big difference between ground bees and other types of bees is the lack of dense, fuzzy hairs.
These bees live in the soil, often in areas with little vegetation or bare ground.
Yellow Jackets (Vespula genus)
Yellow jackets are not bees at all, although they could be mistaken for a type of bee. Instead, yellow jackets are a type of wasp with black and yellow markings on their bodies.
They are slender, with a narrow waist that separates the thorax from the abdomen.
Yellow jackets have smooth bodies without dense hairs. Unlike many types of bees, yellow jackets are known for their aggressive defense of their nests. They can sting repeatedly and release alarm pheromones to signal danger to the colony.
Unfortunately, yellow jackets tend to build nests near people’s homes.
Have you identified the bees in your backyard?
Let me know in the comments!
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