U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research: Logan, UT
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Pacific West Area Logan, Utah Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research Docs





- Gardening for Native Bees in North America
- What Are Bees?
- Bumble Bees Utah Quickguide
- Bumble Bee Rearing Guide
- Bumble Bees Western U.S. Guide
- Logan "BeeMail" Shelter
- Big Data and Computing
- Bee Lab Main

Is It or Isn't It a Bee?headline bar A bee differs from other floral visitors in having been fed pollen as a larva. If you see an insect toting a load of pollen either on its hind legs or beneath its abdomen, it is a female bee. The pollen may be carried as a dry powder in a brush of hairs, or moistened with nectar to form a clump or pellet. In general, bees are more hairy or fuzzy than their wasp kin. Those that are relatively bare lack the silvery reflective facial hairs that give a flashy face to some related wasps.  An alfalfa leafcutting bee.  Notice the hairy appearance (as compared to wasps and yellow jackets).
Large, furry bees that are black and yellow, are bumblebees.      Flower Fly:A number of harmless insects mimic the look of social bees and wasps. Most familiar among these are the flower flies (*Syrphidae*) whose resemblance to particular genera of social bees or wasps can be uncanny. Careful observation reveals diagnostic differences. Antennae of flower flies are short, having but a few segments terminating in a bristle; bees' antennae are multi-segmented, narrowly cylindrical and longer. Flower flies have but one pair of wings, bees have two pair. Flower flies often hover, unlike our bees. Flower flies, though often hairy, do not accumulate loads of pollen under their abdomens or on their hind legs as female bees do. Nonetheless, they can be significant pollinators. Finally, no flower fly can sting or bite, unlike the social bees or wasps that they mimic.  Flower fly (*Eristalis*) at goldenrod  Yellow Jacket:Yellow jacket wasps (Vespula) are often mistaken for bees. Indeed, some folks call them "meat bees", but they are in fact social wasps related to hornets and only distantly related to bees. Yellow jackets may on occasion visit flowers (or your water-melon slice) for sugar, but unlike bees, yellow jackets are carnivorous, eating insects, carrion and picnic fare. Hence, they have no brushes or pollen baskets for carrying pollen. They are relatively hairless and all resemble the one pictured here. Their nests are made of paper, not wax, typically built in shallow underground cavities. In only a few instances are they thought to be pollinators. Like honeybees and bumble bees, yellow jackets have a potent sting.    Yellow jacket eating plum   Honey Bee:Workers of the European honey bee (*Apis mellifera*) are undoubtedly the most familiar bees to North Americans. This is the bee whose perennial colonies are found in hollow trees and in the white wooden boxes managed by beekeepers for honey production and agricultural pollination. They are tan with varying degrees of orange or brown, more hairy than the yellowjacket, but less furry than the bumble bee. Like many bees, they transport pollen on their hind legs, but notably, their pollen is carried in a smooth, slightly concave pollen basket rather than in a dense brush of hairs. Their populations continue to suffer from two recent Old World afflictions, the Varroa mite and the tracheal mite.   Honey bee worker (*Apis mellifera*) at aster flower You may also be interested in the Pollinator of the Month articles.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov