Now, can you guess how many types of bees there are? ......Well?
What about worldwide?
Alright, here is the answer:
There are around 25,000 known species of bee worldwide (about 4000 species in the US, and over 250 species in Britain)....and there are probably more to be discovered!
These 25,000 species can be divided into over 4000 genera (types of bees) belonging within 9 groups or 'families', all under the banner - or 'Super-family' - 'Apoidea'.
Apoidea also includes 'sphecoid wasps', from which bees are believed to be descended.
Firstly, if you would like to read some general resources about the different bee species:
Click here to read about honey bees.
See this link to read about bumblebees
Click this link to find out about solitary bees.
However, this page provides some introductory information.
Here is a table outlining the types of bees by 'family' or 'taxa', as follows:
Super-family: Apoidea
(Note: This family also includes 'Sphecoid Wasps', not detailed here)
Family Notes
Apidae Includes: honey bees, bumblebees and stingless bees.
Megachilidae Mostly solitary bees, including leafcutter and mason bees.
Andrenidae Mining bees. A large family of bees, with many species. It includes the genera 'Andrena', with other 1300 species alone.
Colletidae Believed to consist of around 2,000 species, and includes plasterer and yellow-faced bees.
Halictidae Often called 'sweat bees', these are smallish bees, mostly dark coloured, but some having green, yellow or red markings.
Melittidae A small family of bees in Africa, with around 60 species belonging to 4 genera.
Meganomiidae Small bee family of about 10 species in 4 genera. Found in Africa.
Dasypodaidae Originally called 'dasypodidae'. Small bee family found in Africa, with more than 100 species in 8 genera.
Stenotritidae Small bee family with around 21 species in 2 genera. Found in Australia. Originally part of the 'Colletidae' family.
Note that some writings do not refer to Meganomiidae or Dasypodaidae as 'higher taxa', where as, APIDAE is split into "APIDAE, Apinae", "APIDAE, Xylocpinae" and "APIDAE, Nomadinae".
As I said, there are about 25,000 types of bees, and I’m not going to pretend I can write about all of them on this site! Instead, I’m going to focus on the types of bees people most commonly have a query about.
But before I do that, let me just tell you that if you want to know where bees fit into the grand scheme of things, then take a look at this fun link about the insect order 'Hymenoptera', which actually includes other types of insects, including ants. I hope you like the drawings!
There are also many books available from Amazon which can help you learn all about bees, from bee identification, to beekeeping books, as well as posters....
For US visitors, I recommend
The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America's Bees
For UK visitors, I recommend
Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland (Field Guides)
In the meantime, you may like to read on for an overview of the bees most people want to know about.
Here they are:
Honey bee
The Honey Bee -(Family: Apidae)
Honey bees are classed as ‘social’ bees, as they live in colonies usually consisting of around 50,000 – 60,000 workers.
There are 10 types of honey bee world wide, and one hybrid: the Africanized bee. The European Honey Bee (pictured) Apis Mellifera is commonly kept by beekeepers in the West, who then harvest their honey.
For more information about honey bees, click here. As with many types of bees, honey bees have been experiencing problems, and you may have heard of Colony Collapse Disorder or the 'missing bees' phenomenon. Honey bees play an important role, along with beekeepers, in conservation. Learn more here.
Honey bees are also used extensively in crop pollination too, and along with other bees, they help to put food on our plates.
Bombus terrestris on lavendar
The Bumblebee (Family: Apidae)
Most bumblebee colonies are fairly small, from 50 to 400 workers, but usually around 120 to 200. Pictured left is Bombus lucorum - The White-tailed bumblebee.Most species are ‘social', but there are also 'social parasite' species, known as 'cuckoo bumblebees'. These parasitic bumblebees inhabit the nests of other bumblebee hosts.
Bumblebees are also excellent pollinators of all kinds of flowers, and are a welcome and familiar site in gardens. Their efficiency as pollinators is partially down to their furry body shape, but also because they have the ability to 'buzz pollinate'. To read more about bumblebees generally, take a look at my section about bumblebees.
Leafcutter bee
Leafcutter and Mason bees (Family: Megachilidae)
These types of bees are solitary bees. With solitary bees, usually, a single female mates, then constructs a nest alone, and provides for the egg cells that will become larvae.
However, some solitary bees in o