r/bees • u/estrogenex • 3h ago
r/bees • u/Commercial-Sail-5915 • May 31 '26
Is this a bee?
Make sure that your yellow fuzzy friend is actually a bee and not an imposter! We get quite a few non-bees in our bee subreddit: sometimes they're wasps (check out the bee/wasp guide in the pinned), and sometimes they're not a stinging insect at all! Flies in remarkably detailed costumes frequently make their way into r/bees but with some tips and practice you can learn to spot the differences. Read through for features to look out for, or flip through the slides for fly species commonly posted.
Pictures are largely taken from iNaturalist with a full list of sources by slide at the end of this post, I assume that they are fine to use for free educational purposes but if the photographer would like me to remove their picture, please reach out to me so I can act accordingly. All pictures from slides 1-5 can be credited to mod Commercial Sail.
Flies are in a completely different taxonomic order to bees (flies are the order Diptera, bees are a subgroup within order Hymenoptera) so there are quite a few easy ways to differentiate them:
- The name "Diptera" literally means "two wings" flies only have one pair of wings while bees have two pairs. Most identification rules are more like loose guidelines but this rule is absolute! That being said, the hindwings of bees are difficult to see, they're smaller and often tucked underneath the larger forewings, making the bee look like they have two wings after all. You can try to judge based off of wing shape: fly wings are often paddle-shaped with a clear curve before coming to a petiolate base, while bee wings are generally more evenly tapered towards the base. More experienced identifiers may also look at wing venation, for example the western honeybee in slide 3 has the very distinctive elongated marginal and submarginal cell circled in red.
- On the topic of wings, on some flies you may see club-shaped structures where the hindwings would have been: these are halteres, specialized organs to help the fly navigate flight. Not all flies have them out and visible but if you do see them then it's a sure sign you're not looking at a bee.
- Flies typically have short, stubby antennae that can sometimes be difficult to see while bees have comparatively long antennae. Make sure you're looking at the actual antennae and not the forelegs! More common in the wasp-mimicking flies, some will wiggle their long forelegs to sell their image even more.
- Flies tend to have larger eyes that can seem to take up their whole head where bees tend to have smaller eyes with a clear distance between them.
- Many bees may be seen carrying pollen or have their pollen-carrying structures visible: most often as hairs/pollen baskets on the hind legs or sometimes hairs on the underside of the abdomen. Flies do not have these structures as they do not need to gather pollen like bees do.
Note that besides the wing count, there are always exceptions! Some flies have pretty long antennae (though you'll often still be able to see the different segmentation) and some bees, particularly males, have very large eyes. This is why it's better to judge based on a combination of characteristics rather than looking at any one feature at a time.
You may also hear that the waist and mouthparts are good identifiers as well - this is true, but I elected to leave them out of this guide as the waistline may be obscured by fuzz, wings, or just a poorly-angled shot, and some bees are just so robust (fat) that it gets difficult to see where exactly that tapered waist is supposed to be. In terms of mouthparts, few amateur photographers focus on the mouth at all and it's definitely not something you'll typically see if you're just watching them go about your garden.
At the end of the day, the best trick is to just get familiar with species in your area using trusted sources like Bugguide. If you're still not sure, post to one of the bug identification subreddits and make sure you give a general location, which always appreciated in ID posts no matter what you're looking at!
Sources
Volucella zonaria: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/322106668
Bombylidae: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/226072821
Laphria: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/88331437
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/282732509
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65816664
Cuterebra: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/133138438
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90333390
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/296063941
r/bees • u/Commercial-Sail-5915 • May 26 '26
What's this nest?
Are you looking to ID a nest? Some are easier to distinguish than others, here's some of our most commonly submitted species:
- Honeybee nests consist of exposed wax combs, usually hanging vertically. They're more often found in cavities like tree hollows or man-made frames but may also be seen constructed in open air attached to large branches or buildings.
- Bumblebees also have wax nests but are typically smaller with fewer and more disorganized cells compared to the neat hexagonal cells of other social hymenopterans. They typically nest in small spaces like old rodent holes but will occasionally find themselves in human spaces like attics and crawl spaces.
- Aerial-nesting yellowjackets and true hornets have an outer paper envelope covering the horizontally-stacked paper combs; nests are typically built in open air attached to branches or in sheltered areas with preference depending on species. The bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata, actually an aerial yellowjacket) may have a distinctive long tube entrance in early stages of nest formation.
- Ground-nesting yellowjackets typically nest in pre-existing cavities such as old rodent burrows. The entrances are often dangerously inconspicuous but active nests will have individuals flying in and around the area. If the nest was dug up (often by skunks and other mammals looking for the tasty larvae) you may see ripped paper combs scattered on the ground.
- The paper wasp subfamily Polistinae is quite variable but in the northern hemisphere the common Polistes sp. have distinctive umbrella-like nests with open cells. Mischocyttarus sp. in areas of the southern/western US may have more elongated nests. Nests tend to be built in sheltered spots such as in bushes, under eaves, etc.
- The vast majority of other bees and wasps are solitary. They may dig tunnels, bore into wood, or refurbish existing holes with materials like mud/leaves/resin. *These nests generally cannot be reliably identified without seeing the actual bee/wasp!* Some species that construct their own freestanding mud nests may be tentatively identified, but only a few are reliably distinguished. Also note that many mud-nesting bees and wasps will reuse nests of other species left from past seasons if available as it's less work than building one from scratch.
The nest in the first slide is a young aerial yellowjacket nest.
Pictures are largely taken from Bugguide with a full list of sources by slide at the end of this post, I assume that they are fine to use for free educational purposes but if the photographer would like me to remove their picture, please reach out to me so I can act accordingly.
Sources
Cover: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/513938
Honeybee: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/1227238
Bumblebee: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/6585
Aerial yjs and hornets:https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/781412
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/110277
https://extension.psu.edu/european-hornet
Ground yjs: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/266282
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/38722/bgimage
Polistinae: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/2511987
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/709119
Unknown mud caps: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218674183
Unknown holes: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90931649
r/bees • u/Distinct_Tart831 • 6h ago
question Does anyone have an idea of what happened to my bee?
I found her 8 weeks ago in the middle of the road, I presumed she was a queen as she was absolutely huge. I’ve been providing flowers and water for her daily and she seemed to being doing pretty well until yesterday. The flowers definitely didn’t have pesticides on them as I made sure they were all from my own garden.
She was running around her enclosure all day, seemed very restless. She even fell into her water bowl once. She seemed to be feeding on the flowers endlessly without being satisfied. I took her outside for an hour and she fed then aswell.
I checked on her before I went to bed and she was still running around in her enclosure. This morning I sadly found her curled up, she looked as if she was sleeping but upon close inspection I found she had died with her tongue out.
I’m just hoping I haven’t done anything to cause this. Everyone that saw her thought she was a queen so I was hoping she would live a lot longer, even if she couldn’t fly.
I’m so upset, I miss her terribly. I just want to know why.
r/bees • u/DewBeezSC • 4h ago
bee photo Big Daddy
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“Big Daddy” Drone walking through! All them ladies notice too! 🤣 💙🇺🇸🐝
r/bees • u/Dear-Routine7468 • 14h ago
misc This swarm of bees are so easily enticed into the box because their Queen is already inside
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r/bees • u/bilbyblooms • 23h ago
Blue Banded Bee
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Feeding on Eucalyptus pachyphylla at our flower farm (and native pollinator haven) 120km NE of Dubbo NSW, Australia
The outer stamens are the boy part of the flower with the lady bit in the center. 4 bands blue bands are females, 5 bands of blue are the boys…
r/bees • u/bilbyblooms • 52m ago
bee ID A native Australia bee, it’s August so it’s not a May Bee
From our property and Australian native flower farm 120km NE of Dubbo, NSW
r/bees • u/URGAMESUX • 51m ago
bee photo Busy little sunflower buds.
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Bunch of bees doing their business in these 8ft tall sunflowers. Beautiful day in Portland SE :)
r/bees • u/AmericanBattlefields • 6h ago
Beekeepers rescue a long-established hive from the walls of a historic home on the Culpeper battlefield in Virginia.
A colony of roughly 10,000 bees was discovered inside a shed slated for demolition at Virginia’s historic Brandy Station battlefield. Local beekeeping families carefully removed the comb and relocated the colony to standard hive boxes on a nearby farm, protecting the bees while restoration work continued.
r/bees • u/Avrael_Asgard • 1d ago
bee photo White tailed bumblebee I found weak on the ground (Germany)
I also have a video, but reddit does NOT accept the standard mp4 video format a Samsung phone records in it seems, I have to find a way later to upload it.
Chonker instantly climbed on my finger and stayed calm while walking around on my hand all the way till home where I gave it some water with a bit of honey. It was so cute I almost couldn't contain myself.
r/bees • u/glitter-bat • 1d ago
bee ID What kinda bumbler is Beemantha?
Found this gorgeous lady on the ground yesterday, she's been enjoying sleeping in my arm hairs to warm up, climbing into flowers for a nap, and explorin. Looks like her wings didn't grow right, one is crunched together and the other looks like it didn't unfurl correctly.
We're in a 4a zone - wondering if she's a black tailed/orange rumpled bumblebee?
She's super cute when she gives herself little cat baths💛 my heart can hardly handle it. ~ that is all, thank yoooou
bee photo Found this common eastern bumblebee
I found this little cutie on my walk home and I'm sure she's done flying for her time. I gave her some sugar water and let her rest in my pot.
r/bees • u/Johnny_Poppyseed • 22h ago
bee photo Male carpenter bee taking a nap after stuffing his face
r/bees • u/Icy_Figure559 • 1d ago
What is this little bee doing?
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r/bees • u/GreenSkittle48 • 23h ago
misc Sleepy bees and the sound of fall creeping in
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Warning: If the sounds of cicadas buzzing in the background isn't enough, a small yet very loud flock of geese fly overhead as two bee butts are settling in for the night.
Good night, sleepy bee butts.
r/bees • u/Avrael_Asgard • 1d ago
misc White tailed bumblebee from earlier post, taking a big sip.
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(Probably) gal drank for like 10min straight, i actually had to add more water because she drank it down to the honey. Yes i know i should have used sugar to mix with water, but i dont have any sugar here rn, this was the only thing i had on hand.
When she was done she eagerly climbed on my finger again and i took her to the window, where she licked my hand for salt a few more minutes, cleaned herself, and then got knocked off by a gust of wind. She can and did fly, i can only hope she remembered during a 3 story fall. 😭
Earlier post: https://www.reddit.com/r/bees/comments/1w39exm/white_tailed_bumblebee_i_found_weak_on_the_ground/
r/bees • u/Independent_Fix_1870 • 11h ago
Honeybee Feeding on a Sunflower
Honeybee Feeding on a Sunflower
r/bees • u/New-Director-9119 • 20h ago
question Bees moved into my tomato pot
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I noticed bees started to gather around the base of this pot earlier in the season but I thought they were just drinking the water that accumulated there. Lately there has been A LOT more bee activity with bees going in and out of the drainage holes on the bottom of the pot. The tomato plant is still healthy and has a number of tomatoes ripening on it. Any thoughts on what’s going on? Will the bees just eventually leave? Are they somehow building a hive in the pot?