Bees come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Our chief and resident bee expert, Noah Wilson-Rich, wrote The Bee: A Natural History. It says, “Earth is home to more than 20,000 bee species, from flower-besting squash bees and fluorescent-colored orchid bees.” Bees are a diverse species that plays an integral role in the life of the planet.
Do you want to know how the bees are doing? Get our State of the Honey Bee Report right now.
Out of these 20,000 different bees, roughly 4,000 species of bees are native to America. The USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Program plans and carries out both large and small surveys for native bees. You can find out more about native bee species at the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitor Lab, which has more than 4,000 high-resolution photos.
It is quite possible that the Perdita Minima bee is the tiniest bee in the world. It is certainly the tiniest bee in North America. The U. S. The Forest Service calls this tiny bee a solitary bee, which means it doesn’t live with other bees like honey bees do. You can find this species of bee in very small nests in the sandy soil of the desert. It’s just under two millimeters long.
Don’t let its size fool you though. This petite bee is very capable of packing large loads of pollen on its hairy legs.
The Anthophora pueblo, the Domino Cuckoo Bee (Thyreus lugubris), and the Amegilla bombiformis, also known as the Teddy Bear bee, would not be on this list of coolest bees. Each of these species highlights what the future holds for bees.
This is a species of singless bee only found on the east-coast of Australia. It is one of the only non-honey bees to produce an edible honey product. They have a limited foraging range, only venturing within 80 feet of the hive. Batumen is a mixture of resin and wax that these bees use to protect their hives from small hive beetles and other pests. They only cease their attack when the invader stops moving; it then shrivels and dies. So essentially, this species of bee mummifies its enemies!.
Bees come in all shapes and sizes, from the tiny sweat bees to the giant carpenter bees While all bees play an important role in pollination and honey production, there is something captivating about the larger bee species. Their size makes them easier to observe, photograph, and appreciate Let’s take a look at some fascinating pictures of these big bees in action.
Varieties of Large Bee Species
There are several types of bees that are considered large, usually over half an inch long. Some of the most common large bee species include
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Carpenter Bees – These robust, black bees drill holes in wood to make their nests. They can reach up to an inch in length.
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Bumblebees – Fuzzy and round, bumblebees are social insects that live in small colonies. They are typically 0.4 to 1.6 inches long.
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Orchard Mason Bees – Metallic blue-black bees that nest in holes and crevices. They are 0.5 to 0.8 inches in size.
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Mining Bees – Often bright colored like green or blue, mining bees dig tunnels in soil. They range from 0.5 to 1 inch.
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Leafcutter Bees – Using pieces of leaves to build nests, these 0.5 to 0.8 inch bees are important pollinators.
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Digger Bees – As the name suggests, these bees burrow in the ground. They are 0.4 to 1.1 inches in length.
up Close Pollinating Action
One of the joys of large bee photography is the ability to capture their pollinating activities in glorious detail. The following are some great examples:
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A carpenter bee with a bright yellow pollen sac on its hind leg hovers near a sunflower. The pollen-coated fur on its body suggests it has been busy at work.
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A buff-tailed bumblebee clings to a purple flower,Proboscis inserted deep to drink nectar. Its stripy abdomen fills the frame.
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An orchard mason bee investigates the center of a dandelion, legs laden with bulging pollen baskets. Its iridescent body glistens in the light.
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A mining bee’s furry head peeks out from an orange poppy, pollen covering its eyes like goggles.
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Detailed shots allow you to see pollen stuck to a leafcutter bee’s body as it nimbly moves between flowers.
Interesting Large Bee Behavior
From drinking nectar to collecting pollen, large bees exhibit some intriguing behaviors.
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A series of images catches a carpenter bee mid-flight, rotating its large body 180 degrees to land on a flower upside down.
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An orchard mason bee uses its mandibles to cut a neat circle from a leaf to build its nest.
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A backlit image shows the silhouette of a fat, hovering bumblebee, nearly motionless except for the rapid flutter of its wings.
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A leafcutter bee carries a section of leaf many times larger than its own body. Its strength supports its nest-building efforts.
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Sweat bees crowd together, covering a rock as they uptake minerals. Their communal gathering offers an unusual perspective.
Macro Shots Galore
Close-up macro photography allows a glimpse into the small details that make bees unique living creatures. Some excellent examples include:
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Extreme magnification of a bumblebee’s head shows its compound eyes, proboscis, and delicate face hairs.
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An image of a carpenter bee’s massive jaws demonstrates its adaptations as a wood-boring insect.
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Tiny hairs cover a mining bee’s eyes and face like a furry mask.
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A side view highlights rows of stiff bristles on a leafcutter bee’s hind legs, used to transport pollen.
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Sweat bees clinging to each other emphasize their minuscule sizes compared to other bee types.
Impressive Bee Portraits
Portrait-style images provide an artistic perspective on the personalities of individual bees. For example:
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A bumblebee with spread wings and fluffy head on a yellow flower makes eye contact with the camera.
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Soft lighting brings out metallic green tones on an orchard mason bee resting on a leaf.
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Early morning backlighting casts a mining bee on a flower in a gentle glow.
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A cropped shot of a carpenter bee from the side accentuates its unusually large compound eyes.
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A sweat bee, tiny on a large yellow bloom, draws the viewer in with an intimate feel.
Finding the Large Bees
The best way to photograph large bees is simply to seek them out! Some tips:
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Visit flower gardens, vegetable gardens, farms, orchards, and meadows where bees forage.
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Target sunflowers, poppies, clover, lavender, foxgloves, and other bee-friendly flowers.
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Observe wooden fence posts or dead trees for carpenter bee nesting sites.
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Follow mining bees to their underground burrow entrances.
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Watch for bumblebee hives hidden in abandoned rodent burrows, sheds, and compost piles.
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Learn to identify large bee species by their distinct appearances and behaviors.
With practice and patience, anyone can enjoy watching and documenting the captivating lives of these important pollinators. If you enjoy observing nature, add large bees to your list of photographic subjects. They will give you a fascinating new perspective.
Domino Cuckoo Bee
The Domino Cuckoo bee belongs to the Apidae family. This bee species can be found with either white or shockingly blue spots. According to the Aussie Bee, “They behave like cuckoo birds– laying their eggs in the nests of other bees.” A difference between cuckoo bees and other species is that the female cuckoo bees lack pollen collectors and don’t construct their nests.
If you’re looking to spot one of these cuckoo bees, these beautiful creatures can be found in Australia.
Wallace’s Giant Bee
Wallace’s Giant Bee is too big to go unnoticed, but has remained elusive since the early 1980’s. Researchers from Princeton University, the University of Sydney, Central Queensland University, Saint Mary’s University in Canada, and local guides set out to find the insect in a small Indonesian rainforest, according to the Museum of Natural History in London. What a beautiful sight! Wildlife photographer Clay Bolt says it was about the size of an adult thumb and four times the size of a honey bee.
British entomologist Alfred Russel Wallace, who also co-discovered Darwin’s theory of evolution, discovered this bee in 1859. This giant bee can be found nesting in active termite mounds found in trees. Deforestation currently threatens the life of this rare species of bee and is currently a part of Global Wildlife Conservation’s ‘“Search for Lost Species” initiative.
The Anthophora pueblo, the Domino Cuckoo Bee (Thyreus lugubris), and the Amegilla bombiformis, also known as the Teddy Bear bee, would not be on this list of coolest bees. Each of these species highlights what the future holds for bees.
This is a species of singless bee only found on the east-coast of Australia. It is one of the only non-honey bees to produce an edible honey product. They have a limited foraging range, only venturing within 80 feet of the hive. Batumen is a mixture of resin and wax that these bees use to protect their hives from small hive beetles and other pests. They only cease their attack when the invader stops moving; it then shrivels and dies. So essentially, this species of bee mummifies its enemies!.
16 Types of Bees
FAQ
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