Bees are among the most important pollinators on Earth, carrying pollen from flower to flower as they collect nectar and helping many fruits, vegetables and nuts to grow. Honey bees are the best known, living in large colonies with a queen, workers and drones, but most bee species actually live alone and nest in the ground, in wood or in hollow stems.
Here you can follow the bee life cycle, learn the role of the queen bee, and meet solitary species such as mason bees, carpenter bees and sweat bees. There are also beginner notes on beekeeping, surprising bee facts, and a look at the yellow jacket wasp, a frequent bee look-alike.
The first stage a bee goes through after hatching from the egg and before becoming an adult is the larval stage. The bee larvae stage is an important part of bee development. The stages of development, from egg to bee, are identified by differences in body composition, dietary choices, and social behavior. Did you know…
Green sweat bees may be different than any bee you’ve seen before. What do you think of when you hear a bee? Yellow and black stripes, flowers and honey, or a yellow bear with a red t-shirt? I’m going to guess sweat and metallic green don’t come to mind. Let’s learn about the green sweat…
Honey bees have amazed us with their ability to cooperate and collaborate to live in organized colonies. For years, researchers have studied bees’ behavior as they dedicate themselves to making honey and also the bee life cycle. From filling honeycombs to biting intruders who invade their territory, these bees are highly interesting creatures. In the…
Our FREE Bee Animation is so cute – just click on any image to get the full size and use on your website, paste into emails, etc. Bee Animations are dancing, visiting flowers, collecting honey, more! How to Install Animated Gif: Place your mouse over the animated gif. Click on the right mouse button. A…
Green sweat bee Quick Facts Common name Green sweat bee Scientific name Augochlora pura Kingdom Animalia Phylum Arthropoda Class Insecta Order Hymenoptera Family Halictidae Genus Augochlora Type Solitary sweat bee Diet Nectar and pollen; licks sweat for salt Habitat Eastern evergreen woods Native range Eastern United States Colours Metallic green, blue or gold Special feature…
Yellow jackets are black-and-yellow social wasps that live in large paper nests, often underground. They are often mistaken for honey bees, but they are a different kind of insect, with a smooth stinger they can use more than once. Yellowjacket Quick Facts Common name Yellowjacket Scientific name Vespula Kingdom Animalia Phylum Arthropoda Class Insecta Order…
Sweat bee is the name given to a large variety of bees belonging to the same family. These bees are attracted to your sweat and hence the name sweat bees. During the day you can typically encounter them swarming over flowers and carrying yellow pollen back to their nests. Sweat bees Quick Facts Common name…
There are many people that have no idea that ground bees even exist. Well, I can assure you that there are many different ground bees and yes, they do burrow themselves under the dirt and make their nest underground. One of the most interesting things about ground bees is the number of them around most…
It is pretty obvious that bees are not only one of the most feared insects in the world but did you know they are also one of the most loved insects in the world? Of course, the only people that really love bees are gardeners, but still, they are definitely an important part of the…
Carpenter bees, also dubbed the ‘wood boring bee’ got their name from their ability to drill through wood and nest inside the hole that they drilled. These bees are honestly some of the most amazing bees in the world due to the fact that their hole is almost always nearly perfectly the same size: half…
Killer bees are definitely one of the most feared bees and certainly one bee that has gained a lot of attention in recent years. Killer bees, also known as Africanized bees are definitely different than any bee that you have ever seen. Of course, the movie ‘The Swarm’ did nothing but make killer bees that…
When it comes to bees, everyone is very familiar with the honey bee. While all humans do not necessarily like bees, the honey bee is definitely one of the most popular as they produce one of the sweetest tasting products in the world: Honey! Of course, honey bees do not just produce and make honey,…