Types of Bees
| Types of Bees Bee Flies Bumblebees Cellophane Bees Honeybees Leaf-cutter Bees Types of Wasps |
Scientific classifications of bees often begin by situating them in the order hymenoptera, the large group of insects that includes wasps and ants.
When people think bee, most think honeybee or bumblebee. However, the bee world is much larger, with over 20,000 identified species in the world. Approximately 3,500 bee species are found in the United States, most in the desert Southwest.
Like the honeybee, most native species are considered major pollinators in their territory.
Under the hymenoptera order, bees fit into a larger grouping called a superfamily, Apoidea. While some disagreement exists on the proper organization of bee families, currently bee species are organizaed according to seven different bee families.
- Family Andrenidae - Mining Bees
- Family Apidae - Bumblebees, Honey Bees, Carpenter Bees, Cuckoo Bees, Digger Bees
- Family Colletidae - Colletid Bees, Plasterer Bees, and Yellow-faced Bees
- Family Halictidae - Halictid Bees and Sweat Bees
- Family Megachilidae - Leafcutting Bees
- Family Melittidae - Melittid Bees
- Stenotritidae - Stenotritid Bees
Bees are commonly differentiated from wasps based on a few physical characteristics such as the presence of body and leg hair along with having a larger barbed stinger.
For identification purposes, physical differences between bees and wasps need to be understood in a larger insect context. Given the presences of many bee mimics in the fly world, looks can be a deceptive identification method. While the mimics do not sting, waiting to be stung by an incect that looks like a bee, to determine whether it is a bee or bee mimic, is never recommended.
The links in the box point to pictures and description of some types of bees mentioned here and the bee flies are a good example of bee mimics.
© 2008-2009. Patricia A. Michaels