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Most bees, like the bumble bee in this photo, carry pollen on their legs. However, some carry pollen on the underside of their abdomen (those in family Megachilidae) and some swallow pollen and carry it in their crop (genus Hylaeus). 

There are over thirty species of bumble bee in British Columbia. Many species can be told apart by the colour pattern on their bodies. Their hair can be black, yellow, white, orange, red, and shades in between.

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Can you see the long tongue on the bumble bee in this photo? Different bees will visit different flowers for food depending on shape, colour, and size of the flowers. The size and tongue-length of a bee will dictate which flowers they can access. 

Did you know that honey bees are not native to North America? They were brought here by European settlers and are an important pollinator in agriculture. Because they are domesticated, they can easily be moved around to different crops. 

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Have you ever seen a bumble bee that seemed bigger than normal? It was probably a queen. For bumble bees, queens are the only females that can reproduce. In this photo we have two males trying to mate with a queen yellow-faced bee (Bombus vosnesenskii). 

Did you know that other than bumble bees, the rest of our native bees (400+ species) are solitary? Each female can reproduce and will build her own nest. The majority of solitary bee species nest underground, like the sweat bee (family Halictidae) in this photo. 

Bees comes in all shapes and sizes. Some are even bright green like the green metallic sweat bee (Agapostemon texanus) in this photo. 

Did you know that only female bees have stingers? Males, like the male leafcutter bee (genus Megachile) in this photo, cannot sting.