18 Different Types Of Bees In California (With Pictures)
There are 25,000 distinct kinds of bees. 1.6 million honey colonies bees must pollinate the 800,000 acres of almond trees. Honey bees can fly for up to four miles away from their hives to take in nectar, water, and pollen.
The bee is the one insect to produces food for humans to eat. California is home to one of the largest populations of bees globally, boasting 1600 species identified. Honey bees are known for the “waggle dance,” a figure-eight shimmy that they perform in mid-air, to share information about the nearby sources (flowers, water, flowers, or even new locations for hives) with other bees from their hive.
The bees are only 10% of 20000 bee species are social, and only a tiny fraction of them build honey bee hives.
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For North America, only the introduced European honey bee and bumblebees construct colonies and live in packs. The majority of bees (around 75% are alone and reside in individual nests, which are tunneled into the soil.
Honey has been proven to have numerous benefits for health, both when consumed and when put on the skin. It is believed that the darker honey, the better. If you spot bees that appear in distress, it might be the case that it’s sitting down, especially if the bee is queen in the early spring.
You can plant variety varieties of blooms in your garden to ensure that the bees can enjoy nectar from March until October. Bees are fond of traditional cottage garden flowers and native wildflowers, including buddleias, primroses, and marigolds. Bees dance is called the “waggle dance.” It’s not dancing at all but rather a method of communicating with each other to inform their nestmates of where to go to locate the best food source. Researchers of Sussex University two years to understand the dance of waggle.
18 Different Types Of Bees In California
1. Digger Bee, Anthophora spp. (Apidae)
They are also known as ground bees; digger bees are single bees who live underground. Digger bees are shiny, metallic black and dull black, light brown and male or female. The majority are predatory feeders, searching on grubs, tiny flying insects, and ground-living pests.
Digger bees range from 6 millimeters. To 1 centimeter long. Digger bees are underground, and they construct nests around 6 inches. They typically live in areas where mulch and grass are cut.
2. Valley Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa Varipuncta (Apidae)
Xylocopa The valley carpenter bee, or Hawaiian carpenter bee, is a carpenter bee that ranges across the western part of Texas from northern Texas to west California. Females are black, while males are golden orange in color.
Carpenter bees do not consume wood but feed on nectar and plant pollen. They can grow to about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) long. The nesting areas comprise eaves, rafters siding, fascia boards, decks, and wooden shake roofs. As well as outdoor furniture.
3. Leafcutter Bee, Megachile Spp. (Megachilidae)
Leafcutting bees play a significant role as pollinators native to North America. Megachile bees exhibit a greyish appearance because of the formation of light hairs over a black cuticle.
They are attracted by nectar sources, pollen and water, nesting spots and other construction materials. They are (around about the same size as a honeybee ranges between 5 and 24 millimeters. Leafcutter Bees are found in urban zones, woodlands and forests, and heath, nests and soil through holes in wood and plants’ stems.
4. Long-horned Bee, Melissodes spp. (Apidae)
Long-horned bees ‘ names come due to their males’ distinctive and long antennae. Long-horned insects are generally big and hairy. The most common long-horned bumblebee measures typically between 9 and 15 millimeters in length.
They consume a range of flowers, including bugs, brambles, and Comfrey. They are believed to appear in various habitats, such as soft cliffs. They live a complex lifestyle and have a lot to lose in a hive being threatened.
5. Wool Carder Bee, Anthidium Manicatum (Megachilidae)
Anthidium manicatum, more commonly known as”the European wool bee, is an insect species belonging to the family of Megachilidae. Wool carder bees are called because the female scrapes them and gathers the soft downy hairs. Wool Carder Bee feeding on flowers. Wool carder bees are big bees, and they range from between 11 and 17 millimeters, roughly similar to a honeybee.
6. Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, Bombus Vosnesenskii (Apidae)
Yellow-faced Bumble Bees are big social bees. These bees are predominantly black, with yellow coloring on their stomachs and faces. Bumblebees eat pollen and nectar from flowers.
Queens measure between 18 and 21 millimeters long, while workers range between 8 and 17 millimeters. The yellow-faced Bumblebee is a kind of Bumblebee indigenous on the West Coast in North America.
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7. Sweat Bee, Halictus spp. (Halictidae)
Halictidae are among the six bee families within the order Hymenoptera and are also called sweat bees. They’re mostly dark to dull in appearance. Like other bees consume nectar and pollen, making flowers pollinate in the process.
Sweat bees are tiny; they range from 0.125 to 0.5 inches long. The habitat of a Sweat bee could be anything from fields or grasslands, vegetable gardens, roadsides, decaying plants, wood and even sweat bees’ nests are in the soil.
8. Mining Bees, Andrena spp. (Apidae)
Mining bees are significant pollinators. It’s a kind of bee that creates nests inside underground tunnels. They are smaller than a honeybee and possess large, furry bodies.
Adults eat nectar and provide pollen and nectar to their larvae. A nesting site for mining bees is a hub of activity, and it is well worth watching on a warm spring day. Female mining bees perform all the work during their entire lives.
9. Ultra Green Sweat Bee, Agapostemon Texanum (Halictidae)
Sometimes, they are called ultra-green sweat bees. Females appear metallic from the head up to the thorax and abdomen. Females have a metallic color from the head down to the thorax and the stomach.
Adult sweat bees can be found on blooms, and nectar is an important ingredient in their diet. Ultra-green Sweat Bees dig deep vertical burrows within the soil or sloping banks.
10. Mason Bee, Osmia (Megachilidae)
Mason bee is the name that is now used to describe a bee species belonging to the Genus Osmia from the family of Megachilidae. They are black and have an iridescent dark blue sheen.
The food comprises pollen cakes and nutritious balls of pollen and nectar collected out of Mother Nature’s first blooms of spring. They range from 3/8 to 5/8 inches in length.
The nests are found in woodpecker holes, insect holes, hollow stems and located in prairies, deserts and shrublands, deciduous forests and coniferous forests.
11. Membrane Bees (Colletidae)
Colletidae Colletidae is a group of bees. They are commonly referred to as the plasterer bees or polyester bees. Their faces are like a heart, and they’re black with clearly defined abdominal hairbands.
Adults can range between 2 mm and 4 centimeters. They are found across the globe; however, most species reside within South America and Australia.
12. Bumblebees (Bombus)
It is believed that the Bumblebee is a widespread social insect known for its capacity to gather nectar from flowers and pollinate plants. Bumblebees are very defensive, and both workers and queens sting.
Bumblebees are huge and fuzzy insects, and they gather nectar (carbohydrates) and pollen (protein) from flowers. Bumblebees are of various sizes, but their average length ranges from 1.5 up to 2.5 cm. bumblebees build Hives that are buried in holes created by bigger animals.
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13. European (Western) Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera)
European honeybees can be found in temperate areas across the globe. They are found in temperate regions all over the world. European Bumblebee is large, heavy and hairy with broad yellow and black bands.
They accumulate and store pollen and nectar, which is the main portion of their food. The European honeybee can grow to about 3/8 and 3/4 inches long. They live in hollow trees, artificial wood honey bee hives, and they nest in hollow trees and other types of cavities.
14. Cuckoo Bees (Nomadinae)
Cuckoo bees do not have to be toxic to humans. Certain species of bees are tough, almost armored bodies. Cuckoo bees eat nectar found in flowers. This species is the smallest has less than 5 millimeters (0.5 millimeters) of length.
Cuckoo bees don’t build their nests. Instead, they will sit in their host’s nest and wait for the female to depart. Cuckoo bees reside in urban areas, forests, woodlands and heaths.
15. Squash Bees (Peponapis)
The term squash bee, which also includes gourd and squash bee, is applied to two similar genera of bees belonging to the tribe of Lucerne. It is an exceptionally skilled native pollinator. They are moderate in size and appearance, and they resemble honeybees.
Females hunt for flowers of squashes, pumpkins, and gourds. The squash bees are active between July and September, and they tend to build nests. They can be found in Quebec, southwards to Mexico.
16. Digger Bees (Anthophorini)
They’re a diverse species that comes from various families. The term digger bee could refer to the andrenids bees. Similar to honey bees, carpenter bees eat nectar and pollen. Digger bees are shiny black metallic and dull black or brown in hue.
Digger bees range from 6mm, and up to 1 cm. Long. Digger bee colonies are usually found in areas where the grass is scarce or in the excessive shade. They first begin to build nests in the yard and are generally not noticed.
17. Polyester Bees (Colletidae)
.The Colletidae are a family of bees. They are commonly referred to as the plasterer bees or polyester bees. They are black, with different hairbands around the abdomen. They feed on flowers on pollen and nectar.
Adults vary in size from approximately 2 millimeters to 4 centimeters. Every female digs her own nest with no assistance from other bees. They are found throughout the globe, and some species can be found in South America and Australia.
18. Masked Bees (Hylaeus)
Masked bees are found within urban environments, forests, heaths, and woodlands. Masked Bees earn their name because a variety of species are black, with striking white or yellow markings in their bodies.
They are most often eating queen Anne’s Lace and other carrot flowers. Most species of Masked Bees tend to be small with a length of fewer than 10 millimeters in length. Masked Bees build nests inside holes that are narrow and drilled inside Bee Hotels.
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