Unidentified Bee
July 17, 2009
I put up a bee house for mason and leafcutter bees with 3/8 inch holes. The leafcutters came earlier in the year and have gone. Now some of the holes have been plastered over and two large black bees with rust colored hair are going in and out the holes. They have very large eyes with mandibles coming out very close to the eyes. Their small eyes are in line with the top of their large eyes. The thorax is black with rust colored hair along the sides and the first abdomen segment is rust colored. The second segment is black, then a thin white stripe, then the rest of the abdomen is black.
Karen Oliver-Paull
Northern most part of Lancaster Co., South Carolina

Giant Resin Bees nesting

Dear Karen,
The Giant Resin Bee, Megachile sculpturalis,is an invasive exotic.  According to BugGuide:  “They are opportunistic and nest in existing wooden cavities, rather than excavating their own.  Recently introduced from Asia. To make things worse it turns out to be a good pollinator of another introduced invasive: kudzu.“  Here is how BugGuide describes the life cycle:  “The female bee nests alone and begins by preparing a cell in an existing tube or narrow cavity, using resin and sap collected from trees. Other materials such as bits of rotten wood and mud are also used in nest construction. Next she collects pollen and carries it to the nest on the underside of her hairy abdomen.  After completing several pollen collecting trips, she lays an egg on the pollen ball in the cell. Then she seals it, and prepares another cell. Continuing in this fashion, one female can complete about 10 cells. If the entrance of the nesting tube is directly exposed to the outside, the tube may be noticeably sealed with a resin, wood and sometimes mud cap. After the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the pollen and spend the winter within their cells. The larvae pupate in late spring and the adult bees emerge that summer.” North Carolina State University

honey bee swarm
Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 2:03 PM
thought you might like a picture of a nice summer honey bee swarm for your website. i walked outside this afternoon to take out the trash and found these ladies on a birdbath in my back yard. i would have liked clearer pictures but i didn’t want to stress them out any more than they already were by getting any closer than i did. they’ve been there for about 3 hours now and seem to still be growing in number, not that i mind, i think they’re fascinating, but how long do swarms generally stay in the same place during a relocation like that?
rebekah
summerville, south carolina

Honey Bee Swarm

Hi Rebekah,
We are thrilled to post your photo of a Honey Bee Swarm.  The swarm will stay until the scouts find a new location, or until they feel threatened or disturbed.  Last spring, a swarm settled into one of our shrubs in Southern California, and they remained for about three hours.

Andrena mining bee
Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 10:41 PM
Hi bugman – long time reader, first time writer. I’ve recently become quite enamored with the (what I believe to be) andrena mining bees that live in my garden. I’ve accidently dug up their burrows a few times doing spring gardening, and I’m sad to say that not all of them survived. They were always very groggy, but some of them were able to dig back down into the loose dirt when they were disturbed. This year I’ve spotted at least two burrows and have put reminders around them so I know not to dig there. Anyway, I was digging around your site, and didn’t find any close-ups of these utterly charming bees, and thought I would send along a nice one that I shot last week. Bugguide advises that identification to species level is best left to professionals – I’m happy just calling them my cute mining bees.
Celeste R.
Portland, Oregon

Mining Bee

Hi Celeste,
Thank you for your very kind letter. We are happy that you have finally written after being a longtime fan. Because of the extreme furriness and because of an image posted to BugGuide, we are more inclined to think your bee is a Leaf Cutting Bee in the genus Megachile, possibly the subgenus Xanthosarus, and quite possibly Megachile perihirta which if found on the west coast. BugGuide has this to say about the family Megachilidae: “Most are leaf-cutters, nesting in ground, in cavities, wood. Tunnels are bored in wood or in the ground. Cell is provisioned with pollen (and nectar?), an egg laid, and cell is sealed over with circular pieces of leaves that fit tightly into cavity.” Eric Eaton has indicated that he has settled in and is ready to assist us again. We will contact him to see if our ID is correct.

Correction from Eric Eaton: Mining Bee
Daniel:
In this case the submitter is right. Remember that leafcutter bees collect pollen in a brush on the underside of the abdomen. This female bee, likely an Andrena species, clearly has pollen collected on her hind legs.
Eric

Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 12:10 PM
Thanks Daniel – and Eric by way of Daniel. I’ve had Eric Eaton’s help a few times on IDs on BugGuide. Being from Portland originally, he has a lot of familiarity with my backyard bugs. It’s an honor and a privilege to have one of my letters on your site!
Cheers, Celeste

Flying Burrowing Insect?
Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 5:25 PM
Hi
Have recently found this insect making nests in the ground in our backyard. I have never seen this insect before and was wondering if you site could help me identify them. They look to be a cross between a small fly and a wasp but they are only about 5mm long. You can see in one of the photos the holes in the ground where they are burrowing. There are at least 10-15 different holes scattered around where they are coming in and out. They are not any trouble but just wondering what they might be so any help would be fantastic.
Regards Brett Holland
Perth, Western Australia

Homalictus Bee

Dear Brett,
We believe you have a colony of Homalictus Bees.  According to the Which Native Bees Live in Your Area website:  “Although very small (most less than 8 mm long), the glittering Homalictus bees come in a dazzling array of colours. ‘Golden blue’, ‘coppery red’ and ‘green tinged with purple, red or gold’ are just a few of the colours listed by scientists. Homalictus bees dig intricate branching nests in the ground. Many females may live together in each nest, taking turns to guard the narrow nest entrance. One nest was found to be occupied by over 160 females! ” and “With glints of aqua blue, golden green and orange, these Homalictus bees make a stunning sight! Just 5 mm long , these bees are tiny living gems.”

Homalictus Bee

Bumble Bee – Australia
Sat, Dec 20, 2008 at 11:38 PM
I took this picture on the 21/12/2008 in my garden. Is this a Bumble Bee or a Carpenter Bee? What would be the common name and scientific ID? The bee was moving from flower to flower on a Purple Duranta. It had a loud slow wing beat so that when I took photo’s in flight I could actually get a still picture of the wing.
Nat
Mid North Coast New South Wales Australia

Carpenter Bee

Hi Nat,
This is a Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa aruana, which we identified on the Insects and Spiders of Brisbane website, which indicates:  “Body length 25mm  They are very large and hairy bees, with black abdomen and yellow thorax.   Theirs wings are dark brown in colour. They are solitary, i.e., living on its     own, not like the Honey Bees that living in group. In late spring, we found it     resting on a footpath, could not fly nor walk, seemed having some problems.     We took it home, for the next day it seemed become normal. We let it go. It     flied away and disappeared within seconds. They feed on pollen. Females make     tunnel and lay eggs in decaying wood, including dry flower sticks of grass-trees Xanthorrhoea .”