Native bees: The true sweat bees

hover fly on a zinnia

We’ve all been outside drinking a pop at a picnic, when these little black-and-yellow creatures start flitting around and trying to get into the drink. “Sweat bees,” someone will say, shaking his or her head. “They’re so annoying.” Learning about bees as we put together the bee identification spinner for the new Pollinator Paradise addition, Read More »

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Native bees: Exotic honeybees and their Apidae family

long-horned bee black background

We’ve talked about the ways that native bees differ from honeybees and how great of pollinators they are, but how do you identify native bees? There are seven known families of bees worldwide, and six live in North America: Andrenidae, Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae and Melittidae. The family Stenotritidae only lives in Australia. With several Read More »

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