What's the buzz about bees?

#Science - because science should blow your mind 🤯

The Buzz About Bees

A backyard scientist recently asked, “What’s the deal with bees? How many kinds are there, and do they all need saving?” The answer might surprise you!

It turns out, there are over 20,000 different kinds of bees around the world, and most of them don't live in hives or make honey! The best known bee, the Western Honey Bee, is not actually native to the United States, but was brought here by Colonial immigrants from Europe 400 years ago. The US does have plenty of native bee species though, 4,000 of them in fact. California alone has about 1,600 different species, in addition to the imported honey bees. (1,5)

Types of Bees

There are 7 major bee families, each containing many varieties and sub-types. You are probably most familiar with the Apidae family, which includes honey bees, bumble bees, and carpenter bees. The other 4 families common to the United States are called Andrenidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, and Megachilidae (which I like to think are the coolest because their name sounds like mega chill). Some of these bees are large and fuzzy, others are small, fast, and only have hair on their heads or legs. Some collect pollen on their bellies, others carry it around in their pockets (actually called “baskets,” located on their hind legs). Some bees are particular, preferring to pollinate blueberries or squash, while others visit as many different kinds of flowers as they can find. All of them are essential to maintaining a balanced, healthy ecosystem. (4,12,18)

Those Western Honey Bees don't look much like native North American bees, which often come in flashy shades of yellow and black. These honey bees are golden brown with black stripes along their midsection. They have been domesticated like cows and pigs by apiarists (beekeepers) who want to collect honey like a dairy farmer collects milk. 70 years ago, there were almost 6 million honey bee colonies in the United States. Over the years their numbers have dwindled, and now there are only about half that many, but other native bee species--crucial to keeping our agriculture and diverse ecosystem alive--are in trouble too (6,12)

Why do pollinators need saving?

75% of the food we grow relies on bees and other pollinators like bats, butterflies, and humming birds to help them grow. Almonds, cucumbers, peaches, and apples all depend on bees, as do tomatoes, which thrive on a type of pollination called “buzz pollination” where the bee munches on the tomato plant flower and then does a little dance, shaking the pollen off like a dog shakes when he comes in from the rain. (6)

There are lots of reasons that bees are not as plentiful as they once were. Plants follow an internal calendar, attuned with the changing seasons, so that they know when to bud and bloom and die. Bees have a similar instinctual rhythm. They hatch just at the right time to pollinate the flowers and continue the life cycle, but as climate change makes our seasons more erratic, flowers don’t always blossom when bees expect them to: sometimes they come buzzing along just a little too early or too late. Not only is there nothing for them to eat or pollinate, but high temperatures and drought leave them searching for water, which could be why they try to take a drink from your swimming pool and fall in. (6)

Because of the declining bee populations, farmers began importing new honey bees each growing season. Unfortunately these non-native species then compete with native bees for resources like water and shelter, and sometimes they even spread new diseases that sicken the native bees. (6)

Pesticides are also a major threat to bees. One of the most common is made from nicotine, and it is toxic to bees even in small doses. Other pesticides may not kill pollinators, but may confuse them so they don’t pollinate as well. In some rural parts of China, bees disappeared completely because of pesticides. The farmers tried to pollinate their apple trees themselves, but it was very expensive and took so much time and hard work that they simply couldn’t keep up and eventually had to stop growing apples! Can you imagine life without apples? No apple pie or apple-smoked sausage or apple butter or apples dipped in peanut butter for a snack. (6,7)

How can people help?

Lots of people are starting to be more conscientious about the way they interact with bees and other pollinators, leaving them alone instead of trapping or spraying. Planting a variety of pollen-producing flowers in your garden gives bees a place to live, eat, and hide. You can even make a "bee fountain" by placing a shallow bowl filled with rocks or marbles and water; the bees like to land on the rocks to rest while they take a drink.

The main thing to remember is that most bees, unlike their wasp cousins, are not particularly aggressive, and will not sting unless they are threatened. They would much rather fly from flower to flower stuffing pollen in their pockets and being left alone. (12)

Did you know?

While it's definitely their favorite, bees aren’t only important for pollination. They are also crucial to our ecosystem in other ways. In fact, a species of Japanese Honey Bees are the only insect known to kill the dastardly Murder Hornet that has recently been hitting the news! When the hornet invades their hive, the bees surround it, buzzing so hard and hot that they raise the temperature inside the hive until they essentially COOK the hornet to death! Isn't that amazing? (9)

For the most part, bees are pretty docile. But what about Killer Bees? It turns out that these are man-made. Back in the 1950’s, apiarists began cross breeding African Honey Bees with Brazilian bees to try to create a more aggressive bee that would produce greater amounts of honey—and it worked! Unfortunately some of these bees escaped and continued cross-breeding with other European Honey Bees as well as native varieties. These aggressive bees attack nest intruders in much larger groups than normal honey bees and are the only bees considered dangerous to people who aren’t allergic to bees. But don't worry, scientists are working hard to contain these rogue hybrids, and they aren't widely spread. (8)

Native North American Bees

There are so many types of bees that it would be impossible to name the all, but if you are very interested to learn more, here’s how to identify a few common types of bees in the United States - follow the links to see pictures of each type of bee!

🐝 Yellow Faced Bumblebees: (Apidae) One of the most common bees native to the United States, it is a large bee, averaging 8 to 21 mm long—that is almost an inch! Your classic bee, it is bright yellow with black stripes, and short hair all over that makes it look very fuzzy. Bumblebees live in hives with a queen to lead them, and they love all crops, but they are especially good at giving tomato plants that special buzz. (10)

🐝 Rusty patched bumblebees: (Apidae) Like their yellow faced kin, these are mostly yellow with a black spot or band between their wings and black lower thorax. It was the first bee from the mainland United States to be listed as endangered by the American Fish and Wildlife Service (in addition to three from Hawaii). (11)

🐝 Carpenter Bees: (Apidae) Black and hairy, though they might have yellow hairs on their heads and thorax, their abdomen is bald. These bees will bore holes into wood, especially if it hasn’t been painted or sealed, to nest inside. (12)

🐝 Digger Bees: (Apidae) Bigger than honey bees, but smaller then bumblebees, they range from about a quarter to a half inch long. The females are fuzzier than the males, and can range in color from dark to shiny metallic, with bright or rusty colored markings. They are called diggers because they dig nests in the grown to lay their eggs. (13,4)

🐝 Cuckoo Bees: (Apidae) They don’t look much like bees at all, and people often confuse them with wasps! They are skinny and hairless, small and fast. About 7-10 mm long, the males usually have black abdomens with yellow or white stripes, and the females are usually more red than black. These bees tend to invade other bees nests. (15,4)

🐝 Mining Bees: (Andrenidae) They look a lot like bumblebees. They are thick and furry, black and yellow, and do not sting or bite. But unlike bumblebees, they do not live in hives. They are solitary bees who build complex tunnels and fill them with pollen to lay their eggs on. They are some of the first bees to hatch every spring. (16,5)

🐝 Membrane Bees: (Colletidae) Small, black, and very hairy, these bees secrete a membrane that is thin and sticky to line their nests and keep it dry and warm. Isn't that clever? (17,5)

🐝 Sweat Bees: (Halictidae) The bane of every kid at summer camp, sweat bees are small and fast, about a fourth the size of a honeybee, and you can see them out and about into the very late autumn. They are usually metallic shades of blue and green, with copper overtones. They’re called sweat bees because they have a tendency to land on people to lap up the salty perspiration right off your skin! (12,4)

🐝 Leaf-Cutter Bees: (Megachilidae) They fly very fast, and are black with white hairs covering their thorax. Sometimes they have very large heads to help them cut up leaves. They use these leaves to close up their nests, sealing their eggs inside, safe from predators. (12)

🐝 Mason Bees: (Megachilidae) Cousins to the leaf-cutter bees, these are also small and fast. They come in metallic shades of blue, dull green, and black. These bees also seal up their nests cavities, but they use mud instead of leaves. (12)

★ Want to learn more? Check out these awesome resources that helped me write this little #Science article, including this bonus video from the BBC of actual Japanese Honey Bees dealing with an invading Murder Hornet.

Jean M. Malone - July 2020