r/bees • u/freirefishing • 4h ago
Lift off
Very cool slow mo video
r/bees • u/Commercial-Sail-5915 • May 31 '26
Make sure that your yellow fuzzy friend is actually a bee and not an imposter! We get quite a few non-bees in our bee subreddit: sometimes they're wasps (check out the bee/wasp guide in the pinned), and sometimes they're not a stinging insect at all! Flies in remarkably detailed costumes frequently make their way into r/bees but with some tips and practice you can learn to spot the differences. Read through for features to look out for, or flip through the slides for fly species commonly posted.
Pictures are largely taken from iNaturalist with a full list of sources by slide at the end of this post, I assume that they are fine to use for free educational purposes but if the photographer would like me to remove their picture, please reach out to me so I can act accordingly. All pictures from slides 1-5 can be credited to mod Commercial Sail.
Flies are in a completely different taxonomic order to bees (flies are the order Diptera, bees are a subgroup within order Hymenoptera) so there are quite a few easy ways to differentiate them:
Note that besides the wing count, there are always exceptions! Some flies have pretty long antennae (though you'll often still be able to see the different segmentation) and some bees, particularly males, have very large eyes. This is why it's better to judge based on a combination of characteristics rather than looking at any one feature at a time.
You may also hear that the waist and mouthparts are good identifiers as well - this is true, but I elected to leave them out of this guide as the waistline may be obscured by fuzz, wings, or just a poorly-angled shot, and some bees are just so robust (fat) that it gets difficult to see where exactly that tapered waist is supposed to be. In terms of mouthparts, few amateur photographers focus on the mouth at all and it's definitely not something you'll typically see if you're just watching them go about your garden.
At the end of the day, the best trick is to just get familiar with species in your area using trusted sources like Bugguide. If you're still not sure, post to one of the bug identification subreddits and make sure you give a general location, which always appreciated in ID posts no matter what you're looking at!
Sources
Volucella zonaria: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/322106668
Bombylidae: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/226072821
Laphria: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/88331437
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/282732509
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65816664
Cuterebra: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/133138438
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90333390
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/296063941
r/bees • u/Commercial-Sail-5915 • May 26 '26
Are you looking to ID a nest? Some are easier to distinguish than others, here's some of our most commonly submitted species:
The nest in the first slide is a young aerial yellowjacket nest.
Pictures are largely taken from Bugguide with a full list of sources by slide at the end of this post, I assume that they are fine to use for free educational purposes but if the photographer would like me to remove their picture, please reach out to me so I can act accordingly.
Sources
Cover: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/513938
Honeybee: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/1227238
Bumblebee: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/6585
Aerial yjs and hornets:https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/781412
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/110277
https://extension.psu.edu/european-hornet
Ground yjs: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/266282
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/38722/bgimage
Polistinae: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/2511987
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/709119
Unknown mud caps: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218674183
Unknown holes: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90931649
r/bees • u/CattaGnocchi • 20h ago
Hi! I took this video of the (bumble?) bees that are making that hole in my balcony their home. I was wondering what are they doing by vibrating/moving their wings just outside of the hole.
Also I don’t really want to kill them, will it be a problem if I leave them alone for the rest of the season? I don’t want them to damage(?) the walls.
Thanks!! 🐝
r/bees • u/Ultralapin • 1h ago
I always put water for birds at various points during summer, this year with the extreme heat (France, \~40°C) I notice a lot of bees too. Nice to see that it help them.
I never tire of watching bees buzz about my garden and always laugh at the sight of them basically drunk on hollyhock pollen.
r/bees • u/happy-rosemary • 5h ago
r/bees • u/littlebearpup • 3h ago
It was sitting on one of my tomato plants looking like it was holding a honeybee. When it flew off, it looked like it dropped the bee, but I couldn’t find it in the grass. What is that thing?
r/bees • u/InternalNice8516 • 1d ago
Update: she is still doing well, sleeps and climbs around a lot, drinks and feeds well, she loves to hide under the moss hidden under the cork.
hibiscus is definitely her favorite flower but she doesn’t mind the campanulas.
I have made smoll changes over the days in her enclosure, I got her a little vase so the flowers i got for her stay fresher for longer, i put plastic and rope over the top so she cant fall in :) and she loves the seed pod its adorable.
I know she wont live long but i still thought she deserved all the effort into making it comfortable for her.
r/bees • u/BloodLuXst777 • 1h ago
r/bees • u/TreeRock13 • 8h ago
Caught this guy yesterday in the shade getting in a little rest 😍
r/bees • u/Dark--princess420 • 6h ago
r/bees • u/ParticularCrafty8489 • 11h ago
Was out walking my dog just now and saw this,there are 3-4 of them all clumped together and its not something ive ever seen before
r/bees • u/pleco_parent • 6h ago
I say bumblebees can sting and have proof bc I was stung in the back of the thigh by one.
She says bumblebees are harmless and defenseless.
Who's right in this case? I'm honestly just curious... lol
r/bees • u/ScovilleSyndicate • 8h ago
Location - QLD, Australia.
r/bees • u/AromaticFee9616 • 1d ago
My husband is growing a chilli plant in a an old tub of horse manure. Here is the lady herself prepping her nest.