Bee Identification
Types of pollinators
While there are over 400 species of wild bees in Wisconsin, to make it easier for you to collect data with the WiBee app, we’ve created just six categories of insects that you will need to be able to identify as you use the app to observe insects that are visiting and pollinating crop flowers:
Review the six categories below and download our Bee ID Guide for a quick printable reference.
Jump to:
Honey bees
Family: Apidae
The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is not native to Wisconsin and typically requires human managed hives to survive in our state. Nonetheless because of the abundance of beekeepers’ hives in Wisconsin, you can find honey bees foraging nearly everywhere.
This is the only bee species in Wisconsin that produces honey, but these industrious bees are also valued for the important pollination services they provide for our fruit and vegetable crops.
What to look for:
- Honey bees have a warm amber-brown color to their body.
- They have a striped abdomen and fewer hairs on their abdomens compared to bumble bees.
- If you look closely, you will see that honey bees have a more heart-shaped face compared to other bees.
- Females carry pollen in tight balls on their hind legs.
There is 1 species of honey bee in Wisconsin.
Bumble bees
Family: Apidae
Due to their large size and dense hair, bumble bees can fly and pollinate in cooler temperatures and carry more pollen than other bees. They are also active the entire length of the growing season, from April to October. Bumble bees are social, living in colonies below ground with anywhere from 50 to 500 individuals.
What to look for:
- Large to very large in size (1/2 to 1 inch or 12-25 mm long)
- Dense hairs cover entire body
- Black and yellow coloring. A few species have brown/orange patches.
- Look for bright yellow balls of pollen (corbicula) stored on their hind legs.
There are 20 bumble bee species in Wisconsin.
Large dark bees
Families: Apidae, Andrenidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae
This diverse group of solitary bees (not social) includes mining bees, mason bees, and leafcutter bees, and they each have very different nesting and foraging behaviors. A mining bee, for example, will nest in underground tunnels. A mason bee will often find a hollow stem or beetle burrow where she builds her nest.
What to look for:
- Medium to large size (over 1/2 inch or 12 mm long)
- Abdomen may be striped or solid
- Color may be black, dark brown, or deep blue. Some bees have light-colored hair on a dark body.
There are over 100 species of large dark bees in Wisconsin.
Small dark bees
Families: Andrenidae, Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae
This diverse group of solitary bees (not social) includes many species of sweat bees, carpenter bees, and more. Look for them crawling around inside flowers. A carpenter bee will create her nest in woody stems and twigs while other bee species will excavate a nest in the ground.
What to look for:
- Tiny to small in size (less than 1/4 inch or 6 mm long)
- Color may be black, brown or golden.
- Hairs are much smaller and less noticeable, and their bodies tend to be narrower.
There are over 100 species of small dark bees in Wisconsin.
Green bees
Family: Halictidae
These solitary emerald green bees, also known as sweat bees due to their tendency to land on people in search of salts, are very small but stand out due to their bright coloring. They are generalists, visiting many different types of flowers, and you can see them carrying pollen on their hind legs. They nest in the ground, and are most active summer and fall.
What to look for:
- Tiny to small in size (less than 1/4 inch long)
- Metallic green in color on all or part of their body.
- May have a striped yellow and black abdomen.
- Their bodies tend to be narrower.
There are 9 species of green bees in Wisconsin.
Learn to identify a few non-bee pollinators
Flies
Flies are in a completely different order of insects from bees (Diptera). The syrphid fly in this photo is commonly seen visiting flowers in Wisconsin, though flies are less efficient pollinators compared to bees.
What to look for:
- Notice their flying behavior: flies hover very steadily, which bees are unable to do.
- Flies have noticeably huge eyes that meet at the top of the head.
- Flies have short stubby antennae that are difficult to see.
- Flies have only one pair of wings, while bees have two pairs.
Wasps
Wasps are in the same order of insects as bees (Hymenoptera). While wasps do visit flowers, they lack feathery hairs on their bodies and are unable to collect pollen as efficiently as bees.
What to look for:
- Wasps tend to take their time collecting flower nectar, whereas bees tend to move deliberately and quickly.
- Wasps have a very pinched waist and long narrow body.
- Wasps have few to no hairs, and their exoskeleton is brightly colored.
- Wasps also have two pairs of wings, similar to bees.
There are many species of flies and wasps that may be mistaken for bees.
