ID THAT BEE: A VISUAL GUIDE TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF BEES

The best way to identify bees is by their color, shape, size, behavior, and habitat. This can be tricky at first, as you might think they all look and act alike.

But pay a little closer attention, and you’ll find that different species of bees have quite unique characteristics.

Once you realize just how vast and interesting these insects are, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for all types of bees, not just honeybees.

Honeybee (genus Apis)

01.

Honeybees have strangely hairy eyes that are large enough to be visible with a camera. The eyes of male honeybees meet at the top of their heads.

02.

There are true and cuckoo versions of each gender of bumblebee. Cuckoo bumblebees have short faces, hairy hind legs, and no pollen baskets.

Bumblebee (genus Bombus)

03.

Mason bees do not have pollen baskets on their legs. Instead, they carry pollen in hairs on the underside of their abdomens.

Mason bee (genus Osmia)

04.

Note that they’re extremely neat cutters, so if you notice jagged edges or tears along the edges, it won’t be the work of leafcutter bees.

Leafcutter bee (Megachile latreille)

05.

Interestingly, these bees have evolved with native blueberries, and their bodies fit perfectly inside bell-shaped blueberry flowers.

Southeastern blueberry bee (Habropoda laboriosa)

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