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Although we tend to just notice the colony-dwelling bumblebees and honeybees, did you know there are around 250 solitary bee species in the UK? These live in burrows in the ground, trees, walls and even snail shells!
Here are some of the more common species of social and solitary bees
Photo: Ivar Leidus CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia
Honeybee Apis mellifera
These distinctive black and gold bees live in colonies made up of a single reproducing female (the queen); many of her smaller non-reproducing daughters (the workers) and a few males (the drones), whose sole role is to mate with the queen.
Bumblebees
Like honeybees, many bumblebee species live in colonies, often in underground burrows, with a reproducing queen and non-reproducing female workers.
However, some species are ‘cleptoparasites’, and take over the nests of other social bumblebees, killing the queen and tricking the workers into raising the imposter’s offspring! All the common species listed here are social bees.
Buff/white tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris/lucorum
The worker bees of these two species are really difficult to tell apart, especially further south in the UK, as their tails are practically the same colour.
They have a yellow collar band, a yellow band at the top of their abdomen and a white or light beige tail.
Photo: Ivar Leidus CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia
Photo: Isiwal CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia
Common carder bee Bombus pascuorum
This cute bumblebee has ginger-brown hair over it’s thorax and the top and bottom of the abdomen.
I think of it as the teddy bear bee!
Early bumblebee Bombus pratorum
This particularly fluffy bumblebee can be distinguished by a bright yellow collar, sometimes a yellow band at the top of the abdomen, and a red-orange tail.
Photo: Ivar Leidus CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia
Photo: Ivar Leidus CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia
Garden bumblebee Bombus hortorum
With its pale tail and yellow bands, it can be difficult to tell the difference between this species and the buff or white tailed bumbles, but you need to keep an eye out for the extra yellow band at the bottom of the thorax, just above the wings.
With its long face and tongue, it can get nectar from difficult-to-reach deep flowers, such as clover or foxglove.
Red-tailed bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
This distinctive species is all jet black apart from the bright orange-red tail, although males also have yellow hair on the head and collar.
Photo: Ivar Leidus CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia
Solitary bees
Photo: Aiwok CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia
Ashy mining bee Andrena cineraria
You can identify this species from the shiny black abdomen and light grey stripes on the thorax.
They nest in underground burrows in short grass or bare earth, and often nest in big groups.
Red mason bee Osmia bicornis
This is a common, orange-haired solitary bee that can often be found nesting in holes in old walls, as well as in hollow plant stems and holes in cliffs.
The species used to be known as Osmia rufa; keep an eye out if you’re using an older identification guide.
Photo: AfroBrazilian CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia
These are really useful resources for bee identification
Bumblebee Conservation Trust online guide https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/learn-about-bumblebees/identifying-bumblebees/
The Wildlife Trusts online guide to solitary bees
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/ryan-clark/identify-solitary-bees-uk
The Bees Wasps & Ants Recording Society (BWARS) has lots of useful resources https://bwars.com/, including a beginner’s guide https://bwars.com/content/beginners-bees-wasps-and-ants
Book: Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland by Steven Falk and Richard Lewington
This is a more detailed online guide that is undergoing work at the moment but hopefully will be back up and running soon
https://zsm.snsb.de/sammlung/key-to-european-genera-of-bees-anthophila/?lang=en
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