Identifying bees is an art, and learning takes practice, patience, and humility. In order to help our participants start this process, Nina Fogel created the Shutterbee Bee Guide, which provides images and traits that distinguish the common genera found in the St. Louis region.

This guide was made using Mike Arduser’s dichotomous key and The Bees in Your Backyard by Wilson and Carril. Special thanks to James Faupel, Emily Buehrle, and Cheyenne Davis for providing support, and many thanks to all the instructors and participants in the January 2021 Apidae ID course for providing invaluable feedback.

We could not have made this guide without the generosity of iNaturalist users who post their gorgeous photos with limited copyrights. All photos in this guide are from Shutterbee participants or other users who have their photos marked as CC BY-NC 4.0 unless noted otherwise. This work is covered under a CC BY-NC copyright and may only be distributed in a non-commercial, attributed manner. Cover photo is by Dawn Weber.

Please send any comments, questions or suggestions to nina.fogel@slu.edu

Keep out an eye for further additions of this guide which will include decision trees to help you identify your species!