Drab reddish-brown honey bees are what most , Fly or ? people think of when asked about bees. Or worse, A diverse group of cleptoparasitic bees that lay their they think of , hornets and yellow jackets and Syrphid Fly Flies eggs in other bees’ nests. No pollen collecting hairs. painful stings. In fact, our native bees are colour- 2 wings ful, diverse and rarely sting. Seventy per cent of ◆ ◆ Short, thick antennae Melecta parasitize early flying bees in the pollen pants, native bees nest in the ground in tunnels carefully Apidae family such as Habropoda. hunt Citizen Science ◆ Ski-goggle eyes excavated and prepared by each female. The rest for the nests of Sweat Bees (). A female ◆ Thick waist/chunky body are opportunistic cavity nesters. enters the nest, kills the host egg, and replaces the Monitoring Guide ◆ No pollen collecting egg with one of her own. parasitize ground hairs nesting mining bees, such as . has Most bees are solitary, meaning that the female a distinctive pointed abdomen. The female parasit- does everything by herself: finding a nesting site, Wasp Wasps, Hornets, laying her eggs, foraging for food for her eggs and Yellow Jackets izes (Leafcutter) bee nests. She breaks a creating chambers to protect her eggs. hole in the leaf-covered nest cell and lays her egg ◆ 4 wings inside. The larva hatches almost immediately and ◆ Long antennae with its large mandible, kills the leafcutter bee larva. Most bees fly only two to four weeks depending ◆ Very narrow waist, often on species, weather, and forage. And they fly, at narrow body Melecta Sphecodes most, the length of a football field looking for food. ◆ Spindly, hooked legs Exceptions are bumble bees, honey bees, and a few ◆ No pollen collecting hairs other semi-social bees. Bee Bees We have over 500 bee species in British ◆ 4 wings Columbia. Because of the range of ecosystems, ◆ Antennae long & elbowed Usually hairy (Bunchgrass, Interior Douglas-Fir, and Alpine Tun- ◆ ◆ Female has special pollen dra) the Southern Interior has a high diversity of collecting hairs () or bee species. This pamphlet focuses on the most Nomada Coelioxys pollen basket (corbicula) common bees that observers might see in their ◆ Rounder body than wasp gardens or on hiking trails. Honey Bees Family: Apidae | Genus: Apis mellifera Highly social, managed, non-native bee. Abdomen Common Bees is torpedo-shaped and striped; fuzzy thorax. Information compiled by Elaine Sedgman; Designed by of the Southern Colour can range from Sherry Bennett (Thompson Shuswap Master Gardeners) orange/brown/yellow Consultation: Lincoln Best, Bee Taxonomist to almost black. Carries Interior of BC pollen as a moist clump in a Photographs: Elaine Sedgman except for: Resources: pollen basket on hind legs. Lincoln Best: Bombus occidentalis, Bombus insularis, Diadasia, Melecta, Perdita, Colletes simulans, Osmia bella Wilson, Joseph S. and Olivia Messinger Carril. Stephen Cresswell: Hylaeus modestus (male) The Bees in Your Backyard. Princeton: Princeton Lori Weidenhammer: manicatum, Bombus University Press, 2016. sitkensis, Sphecodes, Hylaeus (female) Williams, Paul, et al. Bumble Bees of North This guide was made possible by a America. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014. City of Kamloops Social Planning Grant biodiversify.ca Lincoln Best, Bee Taxonomist – biodiversify.ca Bumble Bees Pollen Pants Bees Pollen Pants Bees Striped Hairy Belly Bees Family: Apidae | Genus: Bombus Family: Halictidae (Sweat Bees) Family: Andrenidae (Mining Bees) Family: Medium to very large, social bees. Entire body is fuzzy. Small to medium sized, black to dark brown or brilliant Andrena are solitary ground nesting bees. A diverse Are often black with white/silvery abdominal hair bands. Carries pollen as a moist clump in a corbicula on its green. Carries pollen on hind legs. Ground nesting genus, species emerge in early spring to late sum- Scopa located on the underside of the abdomen. Spe- hind legs. A queen might recycle an abandoned mouse bees with life cycles ranging from solitary to social. mer. Females have silver, velvety hairs located in a cies nest in pre-existing tunnels and are all solitary bees. burrow, box, or a warm area under logs for a nest. have bands of white or cream-coloured depression on the inside of their compound eyes (fa- Heriades have puffy abdomen segments; females use hairs at the bottom edge of each abdominal seg- cial fovea). They carry pollen on their back legs and at resin to construct egg cell partitions. Megachile rotun- There are over 35 species of bumble bees in BC. ment. Agapostemon, a metallic green Sweat Bee, the base of their thorax. The smallest BC bee is the Per- data (European Leafcutter Bee); very common non-na- B. nevadensis is our largest; B. sitkensis is a mountain/ is very common. (Dialictus), the dita (Fairy Bee), a metallic blue or green bee with white tive. coastal bee; B. insularis is a cleptoparasitic bee (Cuckoo Heriades tiny dark metallic bee, is our smallest Sweat Bee. or yellow stripes on its abdomen and facial markings. (Wool Carder Bee); non- Bee), laying her eggs in other bumble bee nests. native. Males hover Agapostemon virescens Andrena (late summer) Perdita Bombus centralis Bombus huntii around and defend their patch of flowers from - in truders. Females scrape fuzz off plant leaves to line their nest cells. Anthidium manicatum

Agapostemon texanus Lasioglossum

Bombus bifarius Bombus insularis Family: Apidae

These bees are in the same family as bumble bees, but instead are solitary ground nesting bees that collect pol- len on big brushes on their hind legs. Melissodes (Long- Horned Bees) are summer bees. Diadasia australis Metallic Hairy Belly Bees (Cactus Bee) specialize on cactus flowers. Habropoda Family: Megachilidae cineraria are quick, spring flying bees. Females carry Family: Colletidae (Polyester Bees) Solitary opportunistic cavity nesting bees. Scopa locat- their pollen on orange-coloured scopa on their hind legs. Colletes are solitary, ground ed on underside of abdomen. Colour ranges from metal- Colletes Bombus nevadensis Bombus occidentalis nesting bees that waterproof Melissodes – Female Melissodes – Male lic blue, green to black. Abdomens are rounded. There their nests with a lining made are over 60 species of Osmia in BC. Many females use of secretions from a spe- chewed up leaves to parti- Osmia bella cialized gland. Hylaeus are tion their egg cells. Osmia small bees with white or lignaria (Blue Orchard yellow markings on the face ) uses mud and legs. Very little hair; no instead. Hoplitis fulgida scopa. Unusual for our bee can be mistaken for a fauna, females eat the pollen and nectar and regurgi- Mason Bee, but its body is tate it in the nest. They nest in small cavities and hol- more elongated. Bombus sitkensis Bombus vagans low stems, which they also waterproof with secretions. Diadasia australis Habropoda cineraria Hoplitis fulgida Hylaeus — Male Hylaeus — Female