What’s that bee?
Hello buggers,
My parents have a whole mess of these little guys/gals in their front desert-scaped yard. The small hills of dirt covered with crushed granite now have some dirt exposed, with little burrows about 3/16ths of an inch in diameter all over. These “bees” fly like cutter bees in that they zip around hurriedly, pausing to hover here and there, while they try to find their burrow entrance. They often land and check out a burrow, somehow realize it isn’t theirs and resume the search. They aren’t cutter bees though, as they don’t look much like them, and didn’t have any noticeable leaves in tow, nor any in the burrow that we excavated. They evidently aren’t aggressive either since I was sitting inches away from this one, with a macro lens pointed at it for a good 5 minutes, while I waited for the little ADHD bugger to hold still long enough to get a shot off. If you could please help with identification and any suggestions on getting rid of them since they have become a nuisance due to the shear number of them… without simply slathering the colony with insecticide preferably. Thank you once again for your help,
Ryan Ingraham

Hi Ryan,
We are confused. You state that the bees are not aggressive yet you want to slather them with insecticide. These are native Mason Bees in the family Megachilidae, that according to BugGuide, includes Leaf-cutter Bees, Mason Bees and allies. Perhaps one of our readers can provide a genus or species. These native bees are important pollinators, and they should not be exterminated. We would suggest that if your parents cannot bring themselves to cohabitate, that they simply cover up the exposed soil with additional decomposed granite.

Hi, Daniel:
One minor correction:
The “mason bees” in the xeriscape garden are actually “plasterer bees” in the genus Colletes, family Colletidae. At least, that is what the insect imaged is. They often nest in dense aggregations, but each female maintains her own burrow. Their activity usually lasts only 3-5 weeks, and then they are gone. They do not feed their offspring progressively, like social bees, but provision each cell in the burrow, then close off the burrow and leave, job done. Colletes are also valuable pollinators, and there are fewer and fewer places for them to nest as we pave-over and plow-under ever more land with urban sprawl. Unless you physically grab one of these bees, or step on one in bare feet, you will not get stung.
Eric

Update: (05/22/2008)
Daniel,
Right, that’s why I said: “without simply slathering the colony with insecticide preferably.” But you would have me burry them alive? The point is, and should have been clear, that I don’t want to harm them, otherwise that picture might have been different and on the carnage page. I did mention sitting with a macro lens trying to snap a shot, what kind of bug killer does that? I love nature, and would rather spray the area with something harmless yet mildly offensive to the little bees so they’ll go find new homes. Thanks for the concern, but I’m not a swatter-carrying member of that blatantly abusive pack of simians you often hear from. Please let me know of any natural and effective way of driving them away, or if you know of a resource for that kind of information. My parents are trying to sell their house, and I’ve asked them to give me a chance to get rid of the bees for them without spraying them with insecticide.
Thank you,
Ryan Ingraham

Hi Ryan,
Thanks for setting us straight. We didn’t want you to bury the poor Plaster Bees alive. We just thought that the garden, as it is, seems so inviting to the bees. It was more of a long term solution, that if the Plaster Bees were nesting in exposed soil, covering the exposed soil would help in the future. We don’t have any other suggestions, sadly, since we would like to offer your parents a solution. The irony of the situation when it comes to people selling houses and other things is that they never know what the buyer really wants. I would hate to think that your parents might spend unnecessary dollars on an exterminator, only to find that the one interested buyer, a nature lover who might be willing to offer more than the asking price, might decide not to buy if there are no pollinating insects in the garden. We are sure you are aware that insecticide is not species specific, and butterflies and other creatures will also be affected. Also remember that Eric Eaton indicates that this activity should only last 3-5 weeks of the year and it is probably about to end.

Update: (06/03/2008)
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the info. and advice. Update: The bee larvae are cozy in their burrows, and all the mama bees split after burying their offspring alive. We added some more gravel, careful not to destroy the burrows. No insecticide was used… and my parents got an offer the day after they listed the home. Karma? Maybe. Ironic that the bees in my mom’s front yard split when their child rearing duties were through, and now I’m grown with a wife and kids and my parents are moving out of state leaving me buried alive in the dirt of the Arizona desert? … and that I didn’t have to use any pesticide? Definitely.
Ryan Ingraham

Greetings from FL, I have a few unidentified bugs im dying to identify… Can you please help me?
I live on the island of St. Pete Beach, Fl… In my spare time I photograph wildlife… And I am losing sleep (as well as $6.00 per hour at an internet cafe) over a few unidentified creatures… Whats that bug is awesome!!! It has helped me identify quite a few species already… except for a few… Hope you can get some use out of my photographs… This is my first time posting… KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!!
Deacon~
ps… I have a collection of identified insects that I will send you soon…

hi Deacon,
We are guessing you are no longer online as your flurry of emails has abated. This is a Metallic Green Bee in the genus Agapostemon, in the Sweat Bee family Halictidae. We applaud your enthusiasm if this is your first visit to our site, be we really haven’t the time nor the wherewithall to attend to all of your identification requests in your numerous emails. We would advise you to limit your requests to one or two per day, or even per week. As you have done, continue to limit your requests to one specimen per email. Try to provide us with additional information on the images rather than using a “form” email for all of the requests. Thanks for your enthusiastic interest. If you return to our site after your photo has been removed from the homepage (where letters remain for from a few days to a few weeks depending upon several criteria) you will find it filed in the archive on our Bee 2 page.

Thanks for your time, Im glad you picked my photo out of the countless submissions you must get…
This is my first time with any internet forum, I will come back when my etiquete is honed… I spoke to a volunteer that works with you yesterday, I understand now the magnitude of letters you must recieve… And I just want to say, Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop and look at my pictures… I admire what you do, and to be able to keep up with it along with having to work, thats amazing… I consider myself lucky to have been picked amongst the hundreds of emails you must recieve…. Do keep up the good work, your site is amazing… Im off to Clam Bayou to take more pictures… I found Bug Guide yesterday as well, so I’ll try to not to burden your mailbox too much, I promise… Thanks for picking my photo!!!!
Deacon

Hi again Deacon,
We are mortified that you thought we were calling your sense of etiquette into question. Your online etiquette is pitch perfect. It is just that the shear volume of your requests left us feeling overwhelmed. We are glad you discovered BugGuide, a forum where the burden of posting is placed upon the querant, and not the staff.

Imagine our glee when while we were gardening today, we noticed this swarm of Honey Bees that had taken up residence in our juniper bush. Many of our friends know that for ages we have been saying we wanted a bee hive, but sadly, in the city of Los Angeles, bee hives must be over 100 feet from the nearest structure. Such a law makes us want to be civilly disobedient. We don’t know where this wild swarm came from. Elyria Canyon perhaps, but we spoke to the bees at length, telling them how much we wanted them to stay and how much they would enjoy all the citrus we are planting. We also told the bees that we knew how awful it was to move, and how difficult to find a place that was nice. We assured the bees that our yard was nice. It is pesticide free. We would never freak out because the bees had moved in, unlike so many other people might. We also sympathized with the whole Colony Collapse Disorder. We suspect the bees hate getting shipped from state to state to pollinate orchards, and they would much rather stay in one place. We also suspect that people no longer “Tell The Bees” and the bees want to know. We told the bees that we might try to get some type of hive for them, but we don’t think we can do it soon. We know the juniper shrub is just a temporary layover. It was comforting talking to the bees. We told the bees secrets we tell no one.

Sadly, we didn’t convince the bees to stay. Minutes after we finished typing, and moments before we were going to upload, the bees took off in a swirling tornadolike swarm, only to disappear to parts unknown. For several hours, stray bees continued to search for the now missing swarm. Guess the Queen Bee doesn’t wait for stragglers.

Comment: (03/27/2008) Your honeybee swarm…
I am sorry the bees only came to visit and not stay. (Swarms usually just hang out til the scout bees find them a nice place to live like a hollow tree). They do make decorative hives that hold bees maybe your neighbors would think it was just a decoration. You won’t get honey from it, but you’ll have happy little pollinators in your yard! I say go for the civil disobedience! (Or work with your city or county to change the rules!) Have a great day! And happy spring!
Liz
Interpretive Naturalist

ground burrowing bug
Hello!
I was just curious if someone could tell me what this little guy (or gal) is? Is it a bee, wasp, hornet, neither? He (or she) plays peek- a-boo with me whenever I walk by, scurrying down into it’s little hole in the ground when I get close, but when I got out the camera to try and sneak up on it, it seemed to pose for these pictures. Anyway, I live in Wilmington, NC and would appreciate any info. Thanks!
TC

Hi TC,
This is one of our native Digger Bees, but we don’t feel comfortable with providing you with the tribe nor species. We will contact Eric Eaton to see if he can provide additional information.

Update: (03/25/2008)
Hi, Daniel:
Ok, to answer your questions. the digger bee from North Carolina is a “plasterer bee” in the genus Colletes. They are solitary, each female digging her own nest burrow, but they often nest in dense aggregations that make it appear they are social. The bee secretes a type of organic plastic with which she lines each cell in her burrow. The nectar and pollen she stores for her offspring are in a more liquid state than in most bees, so the plastic “baggie” helps keep it fresh and fungus-free. She suspends one egg from the ceiling of each cell, over the pool of food. The larva that hatches then consumes the meal. Colletes are important native pollinators of many flowers and trees, like redbud.
Keep up the great work, but don’t forget to rest, too.
Eric