Bees are flying insects that collect nectar and pollen.

Over 4,000 bees are native to the U.S. and Canada. Around 1,100 species occur in Texas. A number of non-native bees have also been introduced into the U.S. with the best known being the European honey bee. The European honey bee is the only bee in the U.S. that produces honey.

Download your Texas Bee Field Guide from the Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Download your Native Bees of Texas Guide from Texas Master Naturalists.

Download your Texas Bee Identification Guide from Texas Beekeepers Association.

Texas has several native bee species. Native bees do not sting, they do not make honey (the pollen they collect feeds their larvae) and 30% of the native bees only pollenate a specific plant type. Texas native bees include: Bumble, Carpenter, Leafcutter, Mason, Miner and Sweat.

Below are some of the Texas Native bees that can be seen at The Lorraine Cherry Nature preserve during the year. Click on the bee name for additional information.

BUMBLE BEE

The worker bee is 1/2 to 3/4 inch in size; Drone is 3/8 to 5/8 inch in size; Queen is 3/4 to 7/8 inch in size. These bees forage in open habitats, such as meadows, forest openings and areas along roadsides. Tis native bee can be seen May - Oct.

Queens live for just one year, while her daughter workers life-span may only be a month or two. Male Bumble Bees (known as drones) do not possess a stinger. Only female Bumble Bees are capable of stinging.

Like most other bees, Bumble Bees use nectar as their primary energy source as it is rich in sugars. Pollen is the primary protein source fed to their developing larvae. Bumble Bees are social and make small colonies in the ground, often using abandoned rodent burrows or tree cavities.

Interesting fact - Bumble Bees perform "Buzz Pollination," which involves grasping a flower in their jaws and vibrating their wing muscles to dislodge the pollen. You will often see Bumble Bees on plants of the Salvia family.

CARPENTER BEE

The Carpenter Bee is 1/2 to 1 inch in size and is part of the Xylocopa genus of the Apidae family of insects. Carpenter Bees are large, hairy bees, sometimes confused with Bumble Bees. This native bee can be seen Mar - Sept.

They can be distinguished from Bumble Bees because their abdomens have no yellow hairs, but are black and shiny. Remember, if it’s shiny on the hiney, it is a Carpenter Bee.

They get their name because they often nest in wood. These “wood-worker” solitary bees excavate nesting holes in old wood (they prefer dead trunks and branches but will also dig holes in old lumber). They avoid painted or treated wood. Carpenter Bees can be important pollinators of open-faced flowers.

HONEY BEE

The worker is 3/8 to 3/4 inch in size; Drone is 5/8 inch in size; Queen is 3/4 inch in size. This non-native bee can be seen year -round. Honey Bees account for 80% of all insect pollination. They are social insects, living in colonies of up to 80,000 workers led by a single queen.

Honey Bees live in a highly organized society with various bees having very specific roles during their lifetime: nurses, guards, foragers, housekeepers, construction workers and royal attendants. They are the most well-known non-native bee.

Honey Bees are easy to identify - they are medium sized bee, fly slowly with their legs hanging below them as they fly.

They are raised commercially as pollinators and for honey, wax, pollen, venom and other products. Colonies can live for several years.

LEAFCUTTER BEE

3/8 to 1/2 inch in size. These bees are important pollinators of alfalfa and blueberries and belong to the Megachile family of bees. This native bee can be seen May - Sept.

Leafcutter bees look like Honey Bees, however they are easy to identify. Female Leafcutter Bees have a very hairy underside of their abdomen that they use to carry pollen and thus their rear ends are often yellow with pollen.

Leafcutter Bees make perfect circles on plant leaves 1/4” to 1/2” wide. They make a package of cut leaves and pollen and lay their egg inside. This package provides an instant food source for the larva once it hatches. They prefer plants with antimicrobial chemicals such as roses.

Leafcutter Bees often build their nest individually. You will often find this soil nesting species nesting together in a small area. This is because they are very fussy about where they build their nests and if there is only a small area available that is suitable for nesting, then everyone will want to nest there. Hence you often get loads of solitary bees nesting side by side in one place.

MASON BEE

The Mason Bee is 1/8 to 5/8 inch in size. This native bee can be seen Mar - Sept.

The Osmia species of Mason Bee is very good at pollinating fruit trees. These bees tend to favor tube-shaped or asymmetrical flowers such as plants from the mint and legume families. They are often known as orchard bees.

Mason and Leafcutter Bees are similar in many ways: they carry pollen on their bellies rather than on their hind legs and they nest in holes.

When building their nests Mason Bees use mud to make both the partitions and then use mud to seal the entrance. This unique mud-building behavior leads to their common designation as masons.

MINing BEE

The Miner Bee is 1/4 to 5/8 inch in size. Part of the Andrena genus of the Apidae family of insects. Mining Bees are solitary bees that live on their own, not in colonies like Honey and Bumble Bees. They build their nests underground. This native bee emerges in March and are most active in spring and fall.

It could be said that each solitary bee is her own queen. She builds her own nest, collects her own pollen and nectar, and lays her own eggs without any help from other bees. Some solitary bees may nest in large groups, but they do not actively help each other.

They have hairy thoraxes, faces and legs. Their abdomens are dark and usually striped with bands of pale hair.

This native bee is a pollinator of native flowers, orchard crops and garden plants.

SWEAT BEE

The Sweat Bee is 1/8 to 1/2 inch in size and part of the Halictus genus of the Apidae family of insects. This native bee can be seen Mar - Sept.

They are several species commonly referred to as "Sweat Bees" and are they are known to have varying socializing behavior. In general, Sweat Bees are tiny in size with a metallic color that varies by species.

They are pollinators of native flowers and commercial crops, such as stone fruits and sunflowers. They make their nests on the ground.

This native, solitary bee nests in preexisting tunnels or excavates a chamber in rotting wood.

General Bee Facts

Bees have a long complex tongue that lets them collect nectar from flowers. They all have antennae, they all have six legs and they all have two pairs of wings. Bees are covered with hairs that carry an electrostatic charge which acts like a magnet for pollen, a feature that makes them excellent pollinators. Most females have bristly combs on the hind legs or dense brushes on the underside of their abdomen to manipulate and carry pollen. Some bees have additional stiff hairs on their bodies that form pollen-carrying baskets. Female bees periodically stop foraging and groom themselves to pack the pollen into balls.

The best known species of bee is the European Honey Bee, which as the name suggests, produces honey. Many bees are foragers and will gather pollen from a variety of plants, while other bees will only collect pollen from only one type of plant. The act of foraging for pollen results in the transfer of pollen from flower to flower.

Nine Bumble Bee species are currently known to occur in Texas. To learn how to identify Bumble Bees, click here. While out collecting nectar and/or pollen, Bumble Bees can be easily observed. Away from their nests, individual Bumble Bees actively foraging on flowers are seemingly oblivious to our presence or fly away if approached to close. Bumble Bees foraging on flowers are ideal subjects for digital imagery and documentation. As they are social insects, if you discover a Bumble Bee nest site, treat it with respect as they will defend their colony if disturbed.

Only a small number of bees in Texas are social and live in colonies. These social bees, like the Honey Bees and Bumble Bees, live in groups consisting of a queen and her daughter workers. These colonies have relatively large work forces (10,000-40,000 workers in a Honey Bee colony and 300-600 in a Bumble Bee colony). Because these colonies have a queen, her developing offspring, and food resources to protect, social bees will mount a defense against what they perceive as danger.

Bees are capable of delivering stings to ward off danger, however, only females possess stingers. Male bees do not possess a stinger. Most of native bee species in Texas live a solitary life and do not live in large, cooperative colonies. Since these bees live alone they do not actively defend their colonies through sting attacks. These solitary bees will fly off if their nest site is disturbed.

To learn more about social bees versus solitary bees click here.

An interesting fact is that until recently, it was not understood how a bee could fly! In 2005 a Cal Tech study using high-speed cinematography revealed that sufficient lift was generated by the unconventional combination of short, choppy wing strokes (a rapid rotation of the wing as it flops over and reverses direction) with a wing-beat frequency of 230 times per second! This is the buzzing sound you hear.