EPP 472

Know Your Native Bees

Find PDFs of presentations and links to new publications att th the he Soil Plant and Pest Center web site underr publications and presentations

Frank A. Hale,, Ph.D D. Professor Entomology and d Plant nt Pathology

This presentation based on:

Bee Basics, An Introduction ction to Our O Native Bees

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO CUMENTS/stelprdb5306468.pdf

USDA A Forest Service and d Pollinator Pollin Partnership Publication By Beatriz z Miosset et, Ph.D. and n Buchmann n, Ph.D. Stephen

Native bees ƒ 4,000 native bee species in the U.S.

Native bees ƒ Pollinate P 80% of the 250,000 250,00 flowering plant species in the world

ƒ Most M of the pollination of native plants is done by native bees ƒ Honey H bees are not native since they were brought here by European settlers

B pollinate approximately p pp y 75% of the ƒ Bees fruits, nuts nut and vegetables grown in this country

Southeastern Blueberry Bee

ab opoda a laboriosa abo osa Habropoda

Southeastern eastern nB Blueberry lueberr Bee Family y Apidae

ƒ Can C visit as many as 50,000 blueberry flowers and pollinated enough to produce p more than 6,000 ripe blueberries ƒ 6,000 blueberries are worth $20 or more

Image courtesy of Hannah Burrack, NCSU

Bees and Wasps

Paper Wasp Chewing Caterpillar into a Ball to Feed to Larvae in Nest

ƒ Bees B evolved from p predaceous wasps p starting starti some s 125 million years ag ago when the first flowering plants evolved ƒ Wasps W are carnivores, predators or parasitoids of other insects and spiders ƒ Some S wasps switched tto utilizing nectar for energy e and the pollen for protein and over time, adaptations enabled them to better utilize this resource and evolve into bees

Social and Solitary Bees ƒ Solitary S bees live alone as a adults and raise their brood alone ƒ Social S bees (honey bees, yellow jacket wasps, hornets) have ha annual colonies of many individuals

Paper wasp image courtesy of Terrence Godfrey, photojournalist

Yellowjackets

Social Bees ƒ An A ove over er-wintering er -w wintering queen emerges in the spring, builds a nest, lays eggs egg and collects food for the resulting larvae ƒ The T female worker adults emerge to work together to feed and care for the colony until unt fall when new queens emerge, mate and hibernate hiberna until spring when the cycle begins anew

Image courtesy of Alan Windham

Pollen n Transpor Transport porrt Struc Structures, Called d Scopae

Long g- o g-tongued ongued Bees vs Short rttongued Bees ƒ Ecologically, E bees can be separated into two groups based on the relative length of mouthparts

ƒ Made M of stiff hairs loc located on the hind legs or under the abdomen ƒ Bees B frequently brush themselves, gathering pollen grains from their body body’s s feathery, bran branched ran nched hairs and transfer the pollen grains to theirr scopae ƒ Bees B have br branched hairs that distinguish bees from wasps

ƒ L Long Long g-tongued -to ongued bees like o eA Apidae pidae e and a d Megachilida Megachilidae M ae, favor deep flowers with a longer throat, thro although they can feed on open flat flowers ƒ S Shorrt-tonged Short t-to onged bees are more limited in their floral o choices (shallow flowers, such as those of the daisy or aster family and those of the carrot family

Osmia a cornif cornifrons c niffrons

Hornfaced d Bee B Note e lo long ong tongue Family y Megachilidae

http://ww w.fs.usda. gov/Intern et/FSE_D OCUME NTS/stelp rdb53064 68.pdf

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

http://ww w.fs.usda .gov/Inte rnet/FSE _DOCU MENTS/ stelprdb5 306468.p df

Nesting ƒ All A bee families have species that ccare for their young by building nests and provisioning the nests with pollen, nectar, and saliva before laying their eggs, and sealing them to protect the larvae ƒ They T generally mix dry pollen with some som nectar and knead it into a pollen loaf ƒ Their T saliva provides protection against some bacterial and fungal infections

Nomada a sp. s Cuckoo uckoo Bee e female femal Family y Apidae

Cuckoo Bees ƒ Cuckoo C bees are species from three bee families that lay their the eggs in the nests of other bee species ƒ Some S cuckoo bee species kill the t host’s larvae before laying their egg ƒ The T majority of cuckoo bee larvae feed fee on the stored food and the host larvae

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

ƒ Cuckoo bees are often mistaken for wasps

Types of nests

ƒS Some n native bees build underground nests ƒO Others use hollow stems or holes in trees usuallyy left byy beetles beetle or some chew holes in the wood

Solitary Bees, Honey Bees and Bumble e Bees Provide Mass Provisioning

ƒE Each cell is provisioned with all the food requ required by the larva to become an adult

Underground nderground Nest Provisioned Wi With Bright Orange Pollen Masses

Miners or Digger Bees Dig their Nests in the Ground ƒ Bare, B sunny spots with little cchance of flooding are usually chosen ƒ Long L tunnels are excavated (can be a foot deep or more) ƒ A chamber wider that the tunnel (brood cell) is constructed at the end of the tunnel and often ot other branches with brood cells are made

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5306468.pdf

Miners or Digger Bees Dig their Nests in the Ground ƒ The T brood cell is provisioned with jus one enough pollen and nectar for just bee to grown from egg to adult ƒ The T egg is laid and the chamber is sealed

Hole Nesters: Mason and Leafcutter Bees ƒ Mason M bees use mud to construct partition walls between adjacent cells and a th thicker plug to seal the t nest entrance from parasitoids ƒ Leafcutter L bees cut rounded leaf piec pieces to line the inner walls of nest burrows

Hole ee-Nesters: Mason and Leafcutter Bees

ƒ Make M nest nests estts s in hollow stems or holes made by woo wood odod o d-bo boring b ori beetles or other insects in dead wood ƒ Others O use rrock crevices or surfaces to form their nests ƒ Brood B cells, usually lined up end end d-to -to too-end end in a en row, which each serve as nurseries and growth chambers chamber for larvae, pupae and young adults

Bee e Houses/Walls ƒ Paper P drinking straws can be tied together or hollow twigs g such as elderberryy can be packed horizontally into a container such as a small milk carton facing south or southeast ƒ Close C the opposite end of the straws by gluing the back ends into your carton ƒ A block of wood (scrap crap p lumber) can also have holes les s drilled drillled in n it while instructions are available e on onn-line

Bee Walls

Carpenter Bees ƒ Chew C holes in wood with powerful mandibles ƒ They T create “particle particle board” boar spiral partitions between cells

http://pithandvigor.com/daily-garden/shop-for-garden-products/shed-other-garden-buildings/encouraging-native-bees-with-insect-walls/

Eastern Carpenter Bee Excavated Nest in Wood

Generalists vs Specialists

ƒ Bumble B bees are generalists that depend on a succession of plants p flowering g from om me early arlyy spring when the queen em emerges to o to o early fall when the colony dies ƒ Other O bees specialize in foraging, they resort to using pollen from only one or two families of flowering plants

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5306468.pdf

ƒ Specialists S may collect nectar from a wider range of blossoms than they visit for pollen

Squash Bees Specialist Bees ƒ Squash S bees are efficient pollinators of cucurbit plants ƒ Blueberry bees ƒ Macropis M ss spp. Collect lectt oil and pollen pol ollle le en n on loosestrife flowers (Ly Lysimachia ysimachiia) ia) – they must visit other plants for nectar

ƒ About A the same size and b brownish coloration as honey bees ƒ They T p pollinate flowers faster than honey bees ƒ They T begin working the cucurbit flowers at or before dawn when the flowers are opening w while honey bees arrive later in the day

Peponapsis Peponap ap psis s pruinosa p

Pruinose eS Squash Bee or Common ommon Squash Squash Be Bee Family y Apidae

Apidae (honey honey bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees, squash bees, southeastern blueberry bees, and cuckoo bees) ƒ Bumble beess --- 50 species in North America ƒ Large, L furry and mostly black with yellow, white or bright orange stripes ƒ More M social that most other native bees although their colonies co are not as big or long lived as honey bees

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

Bumble Bee

Pyrobombus s impatiens i

Common Eastern Bumble Bu umble Bee B female Family y Apidae

Image courtesy of Alan Windham, UT Extension Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

Apidae (honey honey bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees, squash bees, southeastern blueberry bees, and cuckoo bees)

Bombus B Bo s bimaculatu bimaculatus b us,

Two o-spotted potted Bum Bumble mble Be Bee male Family y Apidae

ƒ Bumble B bees and honey bees have specialized pollen baskets, called corbiculae, on their hind legs ƒ T The e tib tibial bia al s segment of the hind leg is flattened with rows of long strong setae (hairs) along the edges ƒ The T basket can be packed with pollen, mixed with nectar and nd saliva, saliva into a tight mass called a corbitularr pellet

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisette

Bumble Bees

ƒ The T impatient bumble bee is used as a pollinator of greenhouse tomatoes ƒ All A that is needed is a queen, a box for a nest, and a supply of sugar water because tomatoes don’t produce nectar ƒ Bumble B b bees are important pollinators of some clovers

Xylocopa a virginica v

Eastern stern Carpenter Carp arp rp penter Bee B Family y Apidae

Carpenter Bees ƒ Unlike U bumble bees that are fuzzy all over, carpenter c p bees are p practicallyy hairle hairless on the upper abdomen, appearing glossy ƒ In In early spring, males competing for females chase away other males or m c might even buzz humans but they can’t sting ƒ Carpenter C bees often cut a slit at the base of tthe flower to get at the nectar without comin coming near the pollen dispen dispensing anthers or the stigma of the flower

Carpenterr Bee e Damage

Image courtesy of Wikapedia

Small Carpenter Bees

Ceratina a calcarat c

a Small Carpenter Bee

ƒ Much M smaller than carpenter bees, they nest in pithy stems, such as blackberry or roses

Image courtesy of The Packer Lab - Bee Tribes of the World

Southeastern Blueberry Bees (SEBB) ƒ Forages F primarily on blueberries and a are only active for a few weeks each year

Southeastern Blueberry Bees http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5306468.pdf

ƒ Faster F and more efficient e pollinators of blueberries than honey bees ƒ The T SEBB vibrates her flight muscles very rapidly causing the whole flower to vibrate ƒ This T buzz pollination (sonication) causes pollen to shake out of the anthers onto her body and it also causes p pollen clinging to her body to attach to the stigma

Tribe T ribe eE Eucerini ucerini Long g-h horned orned d Bee B Female Fem Family y Apidae

Megachilid d Bees ƒ This T family contains co mason bees and leaf afcutter bees ƒ They T carry pollen on the underside of their thei abdomens instea instead of carrying pollen on their back legs ƒ The blue orchard bee pollinates fruit trees

Image courtsy of Beatriz Moisset

Blue Orchard Bee

Megachile e Subge Subgenus S bge enus Xanthosarus Xantho ntho osarus s sp. s Family y Megachilidae

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5306468.pdf

Megachile e sp. s

Big head headed aded Bee male Family y Megachilidae

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

Halictidae Sweat Bees ƒ Some S of the mo most ost beautiful bees with their shiny metallic metalliiic icc-co colored c olored bodies (green, blue to copper or gold, and sometimes even black)

Coelioxys Coe e oxy elioxy ys y s sp. s

Cuckoo o-L Leaf ea afaf a f-C Cutter Bees Family y Megachilidae

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

Metallic Green n Bee B Agapostemon n sp. s Family Halictidae

ƒ Augochlora A a pura p a (n (name name means pure magnificent green bee) b builds its nest under the bark of a rotting log ƒ Agapostemon A apos Agapos poss stemon n species s – green, yellow and black ckck k-striped

Lasioglossum m sp. s

Sweat Bee Female Family Halictidae

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

Augochlora Augochlor hlorra a pura p

Pure Green n Aug Augochlora A ug go ochlora Family Halictidae e - Sweat Bees

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

Pure Green n Augochlora ƒ Female F builds nest under bark of rotten logs, adds dds d ds her saliva and secretions to loose, ha half rotted ot wood to build an en envelope for her eggs and accumulated pollen

Halictus s rubicundus r Sweat Bee Female Family Halictidae

ƒ Sh She kneads the pollen into a number of tiny She loaves a shaped like tiles which are plastered on the e wall of the broad chamber and then lays an egg eg gg and seals the cell com completely to keep out ants and other predators http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5306468.pdf

Bee Nests Aggre Aggregation gre regation of Lasioglossum asioglossum sum m zephyru zephyrum z yru um (Zephyrr Diallictu Diallictus D s) s) Family Halictidae

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

Andrenidae e - Miner Bees

ƒ All A ground nesters and mostly dark, black or reddish, but can be metallic blue, yellow, or red and yellow ƒ Velvety V patches (foveae) on their faces between th the eyes and the base of the antennae

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

Andrena ena a Subgenus S nus s Gonand Gonandrena G

D Dogwood d And Andrena A nd drrena Family y Andrenidae e - Mining Bees

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

ƒ Most M are active only in the early spring where they visit willows, maples, maple apples, violets and other wildflowers

Andrena aS Subgenus sS Simandrea Simandre a nasonii Nason’s Nason N s And Andrena A nd d ena dre Family y Andrenidae e – Mining Bees

Image courtesy of Beatriz Mosset

Andrena Andren dren na a sp sp.. fe s emale malle l on azalea

family y Andrenidae e – Mining Bees

Collectidae ((Cellophane p Bees)) ƒ Some S such as the yellow w-masked -m masked bees bees, s, Hylaeus Hylaeu us, do not have po p pollen baskets since they carry pollen in their crops ƒ They T are not as hairy as other bees and can be mistaken for wasps ƒ They all nest in pithy stems

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

Colletes olletes s americanu americanus a species group

Cellophane phane Bees, Family F Colletidae

ƒ Sometimes S they form m la large arge aggregations of nests and use a cellophane e-lilike ikke material mate exuded from glands to line the brood cells

Honey y bees are not native ƒ Honey H bees be do not ot pollinate e tomato or eggplant flowers ƒ H Honey bees do very poorly compared to native bees be b ees when pollinating many native plants, such ass pumpkins, cherries, blueberries, and cranberries

Image courtesy of Beatriz Moisset

Honey Bee e Swarm Family y Apidae

ƒ H Honey bees are valuable because they can be ttransported a to fields where needed, they can pollinate po ollinate as long as the weather permits, and huge numbers can be brought in for pollination

Questions?