The Big Bee Confabulation

Apis mellifera. Photo by Steven Smethurst.

Part 1: The Big Bee Confabulation

Most people would consider themselves at least passingly familiar with the Bee. Alongside rabbits, elephants, whales, and wolves, bees have an unmistakable silhouette. They possess uncanny abilities, such as organizing into hives, producing honey, and even communicating the locations of flowers via the "waggle dance." Equipped with stingers, just the sight and sound of one can send certain people running for cover, and poetically, they die shortly after using this weapon. The Bee fits comfortably in the pantheon of charismatic animals that define our children's books and science education, and consequently, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who couldn't draw one: yellow and black, maybe with some stripes, and small, buzzing wings hovering over a flower or hive.

An except of "The Flower of Nature" including three illustrations of a domesticated Dutch bee species, probably the Apis mellifera. Illustration by Jacob van Maerlan, created between 1340-1350 AD.

However, this common image represents only about 1.5% of bee species, with a mere 8 out of the ~20,000 species worldwide (0.04%) fitting all the above criteria. The discrepancy between the narrow, popular perception of bees and the broad, diverse reality of the bee clade is astonishing, though not surprising.

Apis mellifera in flight. Photo by Kristen Francis.

Who is to blame for this? Perhaps it's the European honey bee (Apis mellifera). A. mellifera is used worldwide for honey production, and hives are leased from beekeepers and transported to agricultural sites for their pollination services. One-third of all human food depends, directly or indirectly, on pollination by bees. As you might expect from their common name, European honey bees are not native to the Americas. Colonists brought A. mellifera here in 1622, where they quickly established feral populations. Now, A. mellifera resides on every continent except Antarctica. Like other domesticated, exotic species, they are not a conservation target.

Apis mellifera's prominent role in global society has led it to become almost synonymous with "bee," or at least with honey production, but this is very much a case of missing the forest for the trees.

Part 2: The Other Honey Makers

An excerpt of the "Madrid Codex" including three illustrations of a domesticated Maya bee species, the Xunaán kaab. I was unable to identify the artist, who would likely have been a Maya scribe or priest in the Yucatán between 1250-1450 AD.

While the European honey bee is extremely productive, the greater honey bee clade can match that productivity. Several possible domestication events in Egypt, France, and China throughout pre-history and antiquity led to 8 existing modern species. Notably, no bees from this clade are native to the Americas. Like many innovations such as written language, agriculture, and city-building, Indigenous peoples in the Americas developed their own means of honey production in parallel with the rest of the world, without apparent knowledge exchange.

A Meliponini, the Narrow Stingless Bee (Tetragonisca angustula) takes flight. Photo by Tiago Lubiana

The bees? Not honey bees. Data can be sparse in English language documentation and research, but there are more than 280 (of ~500 worldwide) species of the bee tribe Meliponini, or "stingless bees," endemic to the Americas. These eusocial bees have a divided social structure based on specialized roles and live in large nest. During the early ancestral period, Native Americans began practicing Meliponiculture, their own unique form of beekeeping. Like in the Old World, there were several domestication events, culminating most dramatically in Aztec and later Mayan cities, where honey was produced in large quantities. Meliponiculture is still widely practiced in South and Central America, with stingless bee honey production gaining traction in Cuba.

Part 3: Our Local Socialites

Bombus impatiens in flight. Photo introduced into the public domain by inaturalist user, beewonder.

I could find no evidence of Meliponiculture being practiced in Florida. However, we do have our own iconic eusocial bees: bumblebees (genus Bombus). Bumblebees are some of the most recognizable native bees, with their large, fuzzy bodies and distinctive buzzing flight. Florida is home to five species of bumblebees, at least two of which can be found reliably in Hillsborough County: The Common Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) and the threatened American Bumblebee (Bombus pensylvanicus).

Bumblebee species are important pollinators, especially for plants such as tomatoes, blueberries, and peppers, which benefit from -if you can believe it- the sound of the bee. Bumblebees can "buzz pollinate" certain flowers by vibrating their flight muscles, the resulting ultrasonic noise releases the pollen. This is a behavior honey bees cannot perform and is shared between large eusocial bees like the Bumble Bees, as well as some of our solitary species. Additionally, large bees such as Bombus pensylvanicus can carry more pollen and are more efficient pollinators for certain plants and crops, such as cotton.

Bombus utilize a wide variety of nesting strategies. These Brown-belted Bumble Bee (Bombus griseocollis) larva were found in a neat nest of grass, covered in a mixture of pollen and nectar. Photo by Kent McFarland.

Bombus live in small colonies started each spring by a single overwintered queen. The colony grows through the summer and dies out in the fall, with only new queens surviving to start the cycle again the following year. They require no human maintenance, but queens rely on existing animal burrows, hollows, and bunching grasses as nesting locations.

Eureka Springs Conservation Park is home to an annual population of bumblebees, which can typically be seen visiting nests built in hollows of the older oak trees on the property.

Part 4: The Solitary Majority

Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee (Agapostemon splendens). Photo by Jade Fortnash.

Despite the attention given to social bees, the vast majority of the world's 20,000 bee species are solitary. In Florida, we have an incredible diversity of these solitary bees, with over 300 documented species.

Unlike their social cousins, solitary bees do not live in colonies. Each female constructs her own nest, usually in the ground or in wood cavities, without cooperation from other bees. She alone is responsible for foraging for food and securing a future for her larvae. Many are also specialists, timing their emergence with the blooming of specific plant species and providing exclusive pollination services.

Perhaps just a few millimeters long, this small carpenter bee bears no flashy colors. Photo by Jasper Shide.

Many solitary bees are small and inconspicuous, often going unnoticed by the untrained eye. However, they play a vital role in ecosystems as pollinators of both native plants and agricultural crops. A few examples of solitary bee groups found in Hillsborough County include:

Agapostemon poeyi, metallic sweat bee. Photo by Jade Fortnash.

Sweat Bees (Family Halictidae): Small, often metallic-colored bees named for their attraction to human sweat. They are important pollinators of many wildflowers and crops. Common genera in the county include Agapostemon and Halictus. Sweat bees typically nest underground in bare soil patches found in habitats like sandy pine flatwoods and open scrub, digging little burrows and chambers in which to lay their eggs for next year’s generation.

The Coelioxys slossoni Leafcutter Bee seems to have a habit of grasping stems with their powerful jaws. Photo by Jochen Essig.

Leafcutter Bees (Within the family Megachilidae) have large, scissor like mandibles, which they use to cut circular pieces from leaves and pedals to line their nest cells. They are efficient pollinators of alfalfa, carrots, and other crops. Leafcutter bees often nest in wood, above-ground cavities, such as dead wood, hollow stems, or abandoned beetle burrows common in hardwood hammocks and forest edges.

An Osmia chalybea mason bee nectaring at a thistle. Photo by Jarro Nevsbaru.

Leafcutter Bees aren’t the only ones who use materials collected elsewhere to construct their nest. Mason Bees (Genus Osmia) are names so for their habit of using mud to construct nests in cavities. They are excellent pollinators of fruit trees and other early-blooming plants. Like leafcutter bees, mason bees also rely on cavities in dead wood or hollow stems to act as a structure for their nest.

Part 5: How to Help Them

Purple Liatris plants bloom in Bullfrog Creek Wildlife and Environmental Area. Photo by James Robe.

By conserving a mosaic of habitats, from sandhill and scrub to hardwood forests and wetlands, programs like ELAPP (Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program) help ensure that native bees have the nesting sites and resources they need to thrive. In turn, these hardworking pollinators provide invaluable pollination services to the residents of Hillsborough County.

The Hillsborough County department of Conservation and Environmental Land Management utilizes prescribed fire as a means of naturally managing the land and promoting the growth of native wildflowers. Photo by Bill Carlisle.

Conservation efforts don't stop at the county level. As citizens, we can all play a part in supporting native bee populations in our own backyards. Here are some simple steps you can take to create a bee-friendly environment:

1. Plant native flowers: Choose a variety of native plants that bloom at different times throughout the year to provide a consistent food source for bees. Excellent options include Black-eyed Susan, Purple Coneflower, Milkweed, and Spotted Beebalm.

2. Leave some bare ground: Many solitary bees, such as Mining Bees and Sweat Bees, nest in the ground. Leave some bare soil patches in your yard to provide nesting sites. Avoid using landscape fabric or heavy mulch in these areas.

An example of a "Insect Hotel" With a variety of hole sizes and materials. Photo by Aschroet.

3. Provide cavity nesting sites: Leafcutter Bees and Mason Bees nest in above-ground cavities. Support these bees by not rigorously removing all dead wood and hollow stems in your garden. For example, if you are removing a dead tree, consider leaving ~10’ of the trunk intact above ground (bluebirds and woodpeckers will thank you as well). Alternatively, create or purchase bee hotels made from bundled reeds or drilled wood blocks.

4. Avoid using pesticides: Pesticides can harm bees and other beneficial insects. If you must use them, follow label instructions carefully and apply them at night when bees are less active.

5. Spread the word: Share your knowledge about the importance of native bees with friends, family, and neighbors. Encourage them to join you in creating bee-friendly habitats in their own yards.

Thank you for joining me on this wild ride. This article only scratches the surface, and I hope, like myself, that you have gained a newfound respect for the sheer complexity and nuance of the bee clade.