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These honey bees are protecting their nest with gobs of prepared propolis.

bee biology

The 3 surprising things honey bees (almost) never...

August 2, 2023

14 Comments

feeding bees

The sugar syrup recipe isn’t hard: don’t...

July 28, 2017

115 Comments

Bees and their queen on a honeycomb. Pixabay

pollination

The secret of extrafloral nectaries

January 6, 2016

3 Comments

bee forage

Bee-u-tify flower seeds for bees

April 18, 2015

12 Comments

bee forage

Lemon queen sunflowers for pollinators

February 12, 2015

22 Comments

bee forage

Viper’s bugloss: a top-tier honey bee plant

January 11, 2015

33 Comments

spring management

Reminder: pollen is not nectar

March 17, 2014

10 Comments

honey production

Drought and the water content of nectar

July 16, 2012

2 Comments

English for beekeepers • honey production

Wednesday wordphile: honey flow

September 7, 2011

2 Comments

bee forage • wild bees and native bees

A morning sip of nectar

August 25, 2011

bee biology • English for beekeepers

Wednesday wordphile: proboscis

August 24, 2011

bees in the news • honey

A rare case of “honey intoxication” in...

July 17, 2011

16 Comments

bee forage • wild bees and native bees

Honey bee forage: curlycup gumweed

May 26, 2011

White crocus. Attract bees to your garden by selecting a variety of plants.

attracting wild pollinators • bee forage • how to

8 ways to attract bees to your garden

May 3, 2011

5 Comments

Regardless of dictionaries, we have in entomology a rule for insect common names that can be followed. It says: If the insect is what the name implies, write the two words separately; otherwise run them together. Thus we have such names as house fly, blow fly, and robber fly contrasted with dragonfly, caddicefly, and butterfly, because the latter are not flies, just as an aphislion is not a lion and a silverfish is not a fish. The honey bee is an insect and is preeminently a bee; “honeybee” is equivalent to “Johnsmith.”

—From Anatomy of the Honey Bee by Robert E. Snodgrass

The non-native European Honey Bee is the state insect of:

Arkansas
Georgia
Kansas
Louisiana
Maine
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
New Jersey
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Not one native bee is a state insect. The closest relative of a North American native bee to make the list is the Tarantula Hawk Wasp, the state insect of New Mexico.

Minnesota now has a state bee as well as a state insect. Bombus affinis, the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee, has been so honored. Good work, Minnesota!

Connecticut’s state insect is the European “praying” mantis. Although they are beneficial insects, they are not native to North America.

Tag - nectar

The 3 surprising things honey bees (almost) never...

The sugar syrup recipe isn’t hard: don’t...

The secret of extrafloral nectaries

Photos of Autumn Joy sedum

Bee-u-tify flower seeds for bees

Lemon queen sunflowers for pollinators

Bee plant survey results

Viper’s bugloss: a top-tier honey bee plant

Reminder: pollen is not nectar

Drought and the water content of nectar

Wednesday wordphile: honey flow

A morning sip of nectar

Wednesday wordphile: proboscis

A rare case of “honey intoxication” in...

Honey bee forage: curlycup gumweed

8 ways to attract bees to your garden