BEES

HONEY BEES
 

PROTECT AT ALL COSTS!!

These guys are super-important pollinators for flowers, fruits and vegetables. This means that they help other plants grow! Bees transfer pollen between all types of plants, allowing them to grow seeds and fruit. Sadly, over the past 15 years, colonies of bees have been disappearing, and the reason remains unknown.

Referred to as ‘colony collapse disorder’, billions of honey bees across the world are leaving their hives, never to return. In some regions, up to 90% of bees have disappeared!  So if you are lucky enough to have them on your property DO NOT KILL THEM!!  Contact a professional bee keeper and they will take them away safely.

The Bumble Bee is 2.5cm (roughly 1 inch) long and only has a 28-day lifespan. They are black and yellow and have hairy bodies.

The Bumble Bee is similar in some aspects to the Honey Bee as they both have a Queen, Female workers, and Male Drones within their hives. This species of Bee can only survive during the warmer months of the year and only the Queen will Hibernate in the winter months to re-start a new colony in the spring. While Bumble Bees collect pollen and nectar to create honey, they do not produce large amounts like the Honey Bee.

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Bumble bee nesting sites are usually found in the ground utilizing small holes such as abandoned mouse nests and are rarely found nesting in any other locations.  The Bumble Bees are good pollinators, as the workers collect pollen with their hind legs and pollinate other plants while collecting nectar.

Mortar Bees are 1cm-1.5cm (3/8"-5/8") long and often are metallic green or blueish-black in colour. Males are smaller than females and can be identified easily by their light-coloured facial hair.  In appearance, these bees are not much different looking than Honey Bees and have the same yellow and brown colour, unlike many wasps that are bright yellow and black in colour.

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Mortar and Mason Bees are referred to by these names due to their nesting choices.  They often can be found burrowing into mortar in brickwork on buildings and will find their way into crevices inside of walls.  Unlike Honeybees and Wasps, they are not social insects and prefer a life of solitary. They are very opportunistic and can be found near other wasp or bee nests looking for suitable vacant nesting sites.

Mortar Bees are typically not aggressive and while they can sting they are unable to pierce human skin and more less a nuisance than harmful.

The Carpenter Bee is Yellow and shiny black, they are 12 to 25mm in length (roughly 0.5-1 inch). Unlike the Honeybees and Yellow Jackets, the Carpenter Bee is like the Mortar Bee and is not a social insect and are instead solitary creatures that nest in wood instead of forming larger colonies. They get their name from their carpenter-like qualities as they carve holes and tunnel into wood creating equally spaced-out partitions for their offspring.

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The Carpenter Bee can over time cause significant structural damage as they bore out wood on your home. While they can cause a lot of destruction to structures, they are great pollinators and rarely pose any physical threat to humans. However, they can be quite alarming as the males protect their nesting sites by flying toward intruders aggressively. Unlike the males, females can sting but rarely do.