Once you start studying the pollinators in your garden, you will see many different types. If you start recognizing some of your visitors, you will look forward to seeing those old friends and indentifying new ones. People seem to care more about the things they can put a name to, so I encourage you to spend some time with identifications.
The different species within the genera are very difficult to discern, but most people can learn to identify down to genus. That in itself is an accomplishment!
For instance, take the genus Andrena. The 1300 species in this genus are also called “mining bees” because they nest in the ground. Like most bee species, they are solitary, which means that all females are fertile and each one builds a nest by herself, provisions the nest with pollen and nectar, and lays the eggs. Unlike a honey bee colony, there are no workers, no honey production, nor any comb building.
The eggs hatch and the young bees progress through the larval stage to the pre-pupal stage before winter sets in. During the winter they remain in the pre-pupal stage until early spring when they complete their metamorphosis into adult bees, both male and female. The adults emerge from the ground, mate, and the females of this new generation begin to build their homes in a new underground chamber.
Solitary bees are often oligolectic, and Andrena bees are no exception. An oligolectic bee is one that collects pollen from only a select few plant species. Often these plants are very closely related—in the same family or even the same genus. In fact, some species of Andrena bees are monolectic, meaning they collect pollen from one—and only one—species of plant. It is easy to see that if that plant becomes rare or extinct, so does its pollinator. No wonder our wild bees are in trouble!
Andrena bees range from about 8-17 mm long. The females in this genus can be distinguished from other bees by the velvety patch of hair between the eyes and the antenna bases. They also have well-developed corbiculae—or pollen baskets—on the sides of the thorax and hind legs. Since the males do not collect pollen, they are not as hairy as the females. The males are also shorter and narrower than the females.
Because Andrena bees build their nests underground, they are adversely affected by farming practices such as tilling, plowing, disking, and spading. They also do not thrive in ground that has been completely cleared of vegetation because they like nesting sites that are protected from weather extremes by bushes or trees. Heavy mulch is also bad for Andrena bees because the females are not able to dig through mulch to get to the soil.
Needless to say, insecticides readily kill Andrena bees and herbicides kill the plants on which they are dependent. Maintaining a pesticide-free garden with plenty of bare soil and many plant varieties—including native species—is the best way to attract and conserve most native bees, including Andrena.
Rusty
Andrena fulva (female). Flickr photo by Mick E. Talbot.
Adrena haemorrhoa (female). Flickr photo by Mick E. Talbot.
Andrena (male). Flickr photo by jbaker5.
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I have found an underground nest in my garden. they are not aggressive. Also they look like honey bees but much darker in color. Any ideas?
thanks
It’s really hard to say. About 4000 species of bees live in North America alone, and most live underground. A picture would help, otherwise I would be guessing.
It’s cool, though. I’m glad you noticed them and you are trying to find out what they are. If you do find out, please let me know.
Hi. My father-in-law put a plant in the ground Tuesday the 14/06/2011 and when he got up in the morning he noticed that the leaves on the plant had gone. When we sat in the garden today 16/06/2011 we saw a couple of bees going into the ground. Do you know if they eat plant? Would be nice to have some reply on this because it is weird and I have never seen them before.
Thanks a lot
Danny James South Wales UK
Danny,
If what you saw were really bees, they would not have eaten the leaves. Bees take nectar and pollen from plants, but they don’t eat leaves. Some bees, like leafcutters, will take a small part of a leaf for their nests, but they don’t strip them bare. Even wasps and hornets don’t eat leaves.
If the leaves disappeared so quickly, I would say it was most likely slugs or snails–or even deer or rabbits–that did the damage, not bees.
This is the second year I have had a bee–huge, but docile–does not sting, but butts disapproval. I cannot pinpoint species. 1-1 1/4 inches long. Black with wing veining. Bright yellow furry “goatee” on black head. Thorax has three rows of dingy (muddy) yellow “fur” and black. The abdomen is half the size of the bee and black, hairless or sparsely so.
He is the guardian of my enclosed patio, chases other mining bees much smaller away. If I leave the gate open, he disapproves and flies in and out of it, to my sliding door and back, repeating until I shut it. If a wind is blowing, he is upset and checking each of my moving, hanging objects. I have a large batch of potted yellow-orange pansies that are fragrant, violets, and basket of Gold in front of the patio.
He brought his mate around for me to see one day–I know it was a mate, because he didn’t chase the similar-sized bee away. BEE, as I call him, will come when I call him, and he hovers a foot away from my face. If I have guests, he checks them out. I warn all, that he is doing just that and will not sting. However, when I hired a friend to clean out my car of glass from a baseball coming through, we had the gate open a long time. I sat and watched the antics. BEE was chasing much smaller mining bees away, sometimes several at a time. One knew it was not his territory and didn’t breech where the gate had been shut.
My friend came in at the end and sat talking with me. Neither of us thought to close the gate and he butted her in the back of the head–she was closest to the gate and had used it more than me. We shut the gate and that was the end of that. One windy day I didn’t get my key out fast enough for him, and he kept butting the glass door next to my head, encouraging me to move in out of the wind, I gathered. He tolerates my guests, even if eating lunch on the patio. I cannot see it (happens fast), but he may butt with the thorax and not the head. That being why his goatee is so free of soil? I live north of Columbus, OH. BEE has “pet” status. The same bee, second year!
Interesting stuff. I know that some bees are very territorial and will chase other bees away, and I know bees will butt large creatures like dogs and humans, but your bee sounds pretty darn persistent. I have no idea what it is.