Tuesday, 9 July 2013

Garden Bees

If you ask most people to imagine a bee they will think of a stripy yellow and black Bumble Bee or maybe, at a push, a honeybee. In reality there are a vast number of species of bee in the UK alone and they come in all different shapes and sizes. This spring and early summer I've photographed a few in the Meet Your Neighbours style so here's a selection.


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This rather furry fellow is an Andrena bee, Andrena nigroaenea


This smaller bee is a Nomada bee, probably Nomada ruficornis

and here's a picture of it sleeping with its jaws locked onto a stalk from a Chive plant




This is a Red Mason Bee, Osmia rufa


here's another Andrena bee, Andrena Haemorrhoa




I've posted this one previously, but it's a pair of Tawny Mining Bees, Andrena fulva (female on right)




and finally an unknown Bumble bee of some sort, Bombus sp.





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4 comments:

  1. Simon Litten10 July 2013 at 20:15

    Great images, Matt. It's great to see these insects in detail, so much better than the guide books (well, the ones I have anyway!).
    Out of interest, what makes the Nomada bee a bee and not a wasp, which is what it more resembles (to my booze-adled eyes at least!). Is it down to it's stinger? There's a few bees I've seen that look more waspish and I've never sussed out a quick and easy way to tell the difference.
    Probaby a very stupid question but if you don't ask...!

    Simon "I should stick to hares" Litten

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    Replies
    1. Matt Cole10 July 2013 at 20:44

      Thanks very much Simon, I'm glad you like them.

      That's a good question! As far as I know the difference is purely taxonomical and so asking what makes an insect a wasp rather than a bee is like asking what makes some mammals dogs and others cats. I don't think there is a specific visible feature or characteristic that distinguishes one from the other but some are known to be from the wasp family and others from the bee family. I believe they are closely related but quite how it is possible to assign them to the 2 families I don't know. Some bees sting and some don't by the way and the same is true of wasps so I don't think it's anything to do with stingers. I agree the Nomada bees look very wasp-like and some wasps look quite bee-like. Tricky isn't it? :)

      Matt "I pretend I know about taxonomy" Cole

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    2. Simon Litten10 July 2013 at 23:42

      The only distinct difference I can unearth is with their feeding - bees: nectar/pollen; wasps: insects/picnics. So I guess the only way I can easily identify them is by smelling their breathe! :-)

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    3. Matt Cole11 July 2013 at 10:39

      Good luck with the breath smelling :) That's true about their diet, though both are partial to a bit of honey when they're cold. It's a good way to get them to pose. :)

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