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World Bee Day

May 20, 2023

Every year, May 20th marks World Bee Day. There are 20,000 species of bee on the planet and over 500 here in British Columbia alone. Would you know a bee if you saw one? Take a look at these photos submitted by members of the department to learn more about our local bees. 

Photo credit: Emelia Kirkwood

Emelia Kirkwood photo

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). 

Video credit: Luiza Gomes

Luiza Gomes video

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.

Click image to watch the video.

Photo credit: Rachel Sullivan-Lord

Rachel Sullivan-Lord photo

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. 

Video credit: Sachithrani Kannangara

Sachithrani Kannangara video

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. 

Click image to watch the video.

Photo credit: Dave Carmean

Dave Carmean photo

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). 

Photo credit: Dave Carmean

Dave Carmean photo

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. 

Photo credit: Tiia Haapalainen

Tiia Haapalainen photo

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

Photo credit: Tiia Haapalainen

Tiia Haapalainen photo

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

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