The Stenotritidae family is smaller still, containing only 21 species that are only found in Australia. The Melittidae family only contains about 200 species with limited distribution in Africa.
Unlike other bees, these types of bees often have a dark metallic appearance and are quite beautiful, looking like little jewels flying through the sky. Some species are attracted to sweat, leading them to be called sweat bees. The Halictidae family contains 3,500 species that are found all over the world. These secretions then dry into a waterproof, cellophane-like lining. These bees are sometimes referred to as cellophane bees or plasterer bees, since they use their mouthparts to smooth the walls of their cell walls with secretions. The Colletidae family is believed to consist of 2,000 species. It includes the smallest bees in the world, Perdita minima, which measure just under 2mm long and are found in the southwestern United States. The Andrenidae family has about 2,700 different species of small, solitary, ground-nesting bees commonly known as mining bees. The largest known bee (Megachile pluto, or Wallace’s Giant Bee) is part of this family, as are leafcutter bees, mason bees, and carder bees. The Megachilidae family comprises around 3,000 species of mostly solitary bees. This is the largest family of bees, encompassing at least 5,700 species, and includes backyard bees that people are most familiar with, such as honeybees, bumblebees, and carpenter bees. These are Apidae, Megachilidae, Andrenidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Melittidae, and Stenotritidae.īees in the Apidae family can either be social or solitary. There are seven distinct bee families seen across all of the species across the world. wasp (pictured on right) 7 bee families to know There are exceptions of course, but these features should help you tell the difference between bees and wasps at first glance.īee (pictured on left) vs. Wasps have distinct black and bright yellow bands around their abdomens, while bees are more of a non-descript light brown or yellowish-brown color. Wasps tend to be narrow-waisted with smooth, slender bodies, while bees are plumper and hairier, with fuzz covering part or all of their bodies and legs. Bees, on the other hand, try to avoid confrontation with humans unless provoked.Īnother quick way to tell them apart is to look at their bodies. If you’ve ever had a run-in with a paper wasp, yellowjacket, or hornet (all of which are different types of wasps), you know they can be nasty and aggressive, especially if you get too close to their nest. One easy thing to remember is that bees can only sting once before dying, while wasps can (and do!) sting multiple times. These yellow and black insects are easily confused for each other and while they’re closely related (both belonging to the insect order Hymenoptera), a few key traits set them apart.
#Little big adventure 2 honey bee how to
How to tell the difference between bees and waspsīefore we get into bees, it’s important to understand the differences between bees and wasps. Box-headed blood bee (Sphecodes monilicornis).Hairy-footed flower bee (Anthophora plumipes).Squash bee (genera Peponapis and Xenoglossa).Southeastern blueberry bee (Habropoda laboriosa).Common types of bees found in backyards and gardens.How to tell the difference between bees and wasps.You’ll get a clear breakdown below with simple tips for IDing them, including pictures, descriptions, and behavioral characteristics that differentiate each species.
But how can you tell what’s what?īookmark this helpful visual guide, which can help you identify the most common types of bees found in your backyard. That’s why if you do come across an aggressive bee and get stung, it’s more likely that you accidentally smushed it or mistook it for a wasp (like a yellowjacket). They’re interested in the plants in your lawn and garden, and prefer to keep to themselves, visiting flowers and feeding on nectar. Most bees are not aggressive and are not interested in people at all. Of these, only 8 species of bees produce honey, and none of them are native to the US-though we do have 4,000 other bee species that are native. They help pollinate 80 percent of flowering plants and 75 percent of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown in the United States.īut while most people think of the common honeybee when they think of bees or pollinators, honeybees are only a tiny segment of many thousand species of bees found in the world.Ībout 20,000 different species, in fact. It goes without saying that bees are vital to the balance of ecosystems across the globe.
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