Throughout the world, there are over 20,000 species of bees, of which about 270 are found in the United kingdom. This includes the well known bumble bee and honey bee, as well as a number of solitary bees. These bees are essential for pollination and ecology. Bee species can then be further divided into subspecies, reflecting their variety of habitats and environmental adaptations.
Bees in the United Kingdom come in all sizes, shapes and behaviours. For example, bumble bees are known for their loud buzzing, while leafcutter and mason bees are more subdued in their activity. Some bees like living alone, whereas others prefer to live in colonies. Understanding the diversity of bee species emphasises the importance of bees to agriculture and diversity.
In this blog we’ll examine the main species of bees found in the United Kingdom, focusing on their traits, environments, and ecological significance.
Social Bees
Honey Bees
The tiny, golden brown honey bees have dark, fuzzy bands along the length of their abdomens. Their eyes are big and they have two pairs of translucent wings. Often constructed in hollow trees or man-made hives, honey bee hives are elaborate constructions made up of wax hexagonal cells used for storing honey and raising larvae.
Honey bees are social insects with three different kinds of bees living in a honey bee hive; male drones, whose main function is to mate with a queen; female worker bees, who gather nectar and tend to the hive; and the queen, who is the only one who lays eggs.
Honey bees are known for being hard-working, visiting many flowers to gather nectar and pollen in order to make their honey. Returning to their hive, honey bees carry out a unique behaviour to communicate and share information (such as a food source). This is known as the ‘waggle dance’ and involves a straight walk in a figure of eight pattern whilst they flutter their wings.
Bumble Bees
Due to their abundant hair, bumble bees appear fuzzy. They are relatively large, powerful insects with striking black and yellow bands. They have two pairs of translucent wings, rounded bodies, and a stocky physique. Bumble bees have a less uniform appearance than honey bees, with certain bumble bee subspecies having markings that are either orange or white.
Bumble bees are social insects that usually reside in small colonies with between 50 and 400 members. Their nests are smaller and less organised than those of honey bees, and are usually located amid compost piles, grass tussocks and abandoned rodent burrows. A queen oversees each colony, with female workers taking care of their nest and foraging.
Due to their larger bodies, bumble bees produce more heat which enables them to fly, making them great pollinators, especially in cooler climates. One interesting fact about bumble bees is their ability to ‘buzz pollinate’, removing pollen from flowers by vibrating their bodies. Although bumble bees don’t generate honey, they are essential to preserving the health of ecosystems.
Common Carder Bees
The medium-sized, fuzzy common carder bee is an example of a subspecies of bumble bee. Primarily ginger or brownish-orange in colour, their consistent tawny colour and absence of noticeable black stripes sets them apart from many other types of bumble bees. They can feed in a greater variety of temperatures since their thick fur keeps them warm in chilly weather.
Common carder bees frequently build their nests above ground in grassy places, such as under moss or in tall plants. The subspecies gets its name from the comparatively small nests they make, typically housing more than 200 individuals, made of plant fibres that they “card” or comb.
Common carder bees are essential pollinators, especially for garden plants and wildflowers. They are well known for their mild disposition and are busy all summer long, rarely stinging unless they feel threatened.
Solitary bees
Mining Bees
Mining bees are medium-sized, usually slender, and can be black, dark brown with occasional orange or yellow patterns on them. A valuable pollinator, mining bees rarely sting, making them safe for humans to be around.
Mining bees do not reside in colonies, preferring to live solitary lives. Each female builds a separate burrow, usually in loose or sandy soil, where she lays her eggs and gives her larvae sustenance. However, they can also live happily nesting in close proximity to each other.
Mason Bees
Mason bees are tiny, metallic-coloured bees that frequently have a sheen of blue, green, or black. As solitary bees, each female constructs her own nest, seals her eggs in naturally occurring cavities, like hollow stems or holes in wood, using things like mud.
Mason bees are not aggressive, hardly ever sting and are essential to gardens and orchards because they are extremely effective pollinators, especially of fruit trees. In fact, they are able to pollinate significantly more flowers per bee than honey bees.
Leafcutter Bees
Leafcutter bees are medium-sized and are dark in colour. They don’t establish colonies and are solitary bees. Leafcutter bees, so named because of their distinctive nesting habits, utilise their leaves to cut precise, round pieces that they use to line the interior of their nest chambers. Usually, these nests are made in small cavities, hollow stems or pre-existing holes in wood.
The leafcutter bee is a non-stinging, gentle species. They are very effective pollinators, especially for crops and plants like lucerne. And their effective leaf-cutting behaviour doesn’t cause much damage to plants, with the bees having more of a positive effect on plants than a negative effect.
Carpenter Bees
Carpenter bees are strong bees with shiny black abdomens and metallic-blue or black colouring, frequently resembling the size and shape of bumble bees. However, their abdomens are hairless and smooth, in contrast to bumble bees. Despite their size and frequent misinterpretation as aggressive, carpenter bees rarely sting unless provoked.
Their name comes from the tunnel they dig into wood, where the solitary female bee builds her nest in dead trees, untouched wood, or wooden buildings. This tunnelling behaviour can occasionally cause small damage to wooden structure, but they are still crucial pollinators that help pollinate flowers and crops throughout the UK.
Sweat Bees
Sweat bees are small, metallic-coloured bees that range in colour from green and blue to black or bronze. This makes them distinct from other bees due to their size and shiny bodies.
These bees get their name from their attraction to human sweat, which gives them salt. Despite this, sweat bees rarely sting (only if threatened) and are normally not aggressive. Depending on the subspecies, sweat bees may exhibit solitary or semi-social behaviour. Some create solitary nests, while others establish tiny colonies, typically in decaying wood or the ground. These bees are vital to agriculture and natural ecosystems.
Summary
There are many species of bees in the UK; these include honey, bumble, mason, mining, carpenter, leafcutter, and sweat bees. By pollinating plants, they maintain agriculture and ecosystems, promoting biodiversity and food production.
If you are ready to start your beekeeping journey, check our blog for more interesting bee information and explore our bee suit and range of beehives to get started.