Sackville Wild Bees 2024
Organization
All organisms are classified into taxonomic groups (taxa) based on shared characteristics. This hierarchical classification begins very broadly at the phylum level and the scope of the shared characteristics narrows as you trace the lineage down to the genus and species levels. Bees belong to the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Hymenoptera, and superfamily Apoidea.
Shared Characteristics
Within Apoidea, there are six families of bees that are found in New Brunswick: Andrenidae, Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae, and Mellitidae.
The “-idae” suffix is a good hint that the taxon being discussed is at the family level! Within a family, there can be extensive variation in morphology (i.e., body form) and behaviour (e.g., nesting patterns), therefore it’s difficult and not very helpful to try to describe a list of identifying characteristics for each bee family
​
When we talk about organisms using scientific language (as opposed to common names), we refer to their genus and species, this is the most specific level of taxonomic organization. These classifications provide us with the most information about shared body form and identifying features. The convention within scientific naming systems is to list the genus first (italicized, capitalized) and the species second (italicized, not capitalized)- e.g., Bombus impatiens- this is the scientific name for the Common Eastern Bumblebee, one of the most abundant species of genus bombus in this region. We have a few pictures of this genus in the gallery!
Native & Non-Native Bees
Just like other animals, there are bees that are native to where they are found and some that are non-native. Non-native bees were usually imported to the region by people. The European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) is a wide spread non-native bee. It is found on all continents except Antarctica. Honey bees are easy to manage because they live in a colony above ground. Additionally, they produce very yummy honey for us to eat!
Another non-native bee that has been widely introduced for agriculture is the Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee (Megachile rotundata). Also native to Europe the Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee was introduced because alfalfa fields were getting so big that native wild bees weren't pollinating the centres of them. This is one of the first times that a solitary bee has been able to be commercially managed.
Most other bees found around NB are native bees (sometimes also called wild bees). These bees are unique because they have evolved alongside the native plants of the region and thus some have developed special features for certain plants. These are the types of bees we are focusing out research around for the Sackville Bee Project.
Bee Nests
Another key point to highlight is the differences in nesting strategies. Bee genera nest either above ground in cavities, such as hollow stems or structures created by other wood-burrowing insects, or below ground by tunneling a few inches into soil with no vegetative cover. Cavity-nesting bees make up a small portion ( <15%) of all bee species, while approximately 70% of solitary bees are ground-nesters.
Specialists & Generalists
Adult bees eat mostly nectar and a little pollen, and make pollen balls for their young which is mostly pollen with some nectar. Some bees are specialists, meaning that they have evolved to have a relationship to one or just some plants. These bees have timed their emergence from their nests to be at the same time specific flowers bloom. Just because a bee is a specialist, doesn't mean they won't visit any other flowers, just that they get specific needs met from certain species. An example of a specialist bee is Macropis who visits Lysimachia flowers to harvest floral oils.
Generalist bees will visit any flower, and have not evolved to have a special relationship with certain species. Most bees are generalists. This is an advantage because there won't be limitations on the type of flower generalist bees visit.
Collecting Pollen
Bees collect pollen primarily to feed their larvae. They make a mixture of pollen and nectar and leave reserves of it in each brood cell to nourish the growing larvae. Bees have developed different specialized structures to help collect pollen. Scopa are the electrostatically charged hairs usually located on bees legs that are designed to collect pollen grains.
Honeybees and Bumble bees have a specialized structure called a corbicula to collect pollen. The corbicula is a large flattened section on the tibia of the back legs. These are better designed to collect a mixture of pollen and nectar. You can easily spot these bees by seeing the large round ball of pollen attached to their back legs.
Megachile bees have scopa on the underside of their abdomen. This is another easy way to identify these bees.
Some bees are cleptoparasites, meaning that they sneak into other bees nests and lay their egg into the brood cells of the host bee. Because these bees don't have to collect pollen to feed their young, they don't have scopa. These bees, like Nomada, usually appear generally hairless. ​
Buzz Pollination
Some species of flowers, particularly the ones in the Solanaceae (potato) family, keep their pollen inside their anthers and need to be shaken to release the pollen. Buzz pollination is when a bee will hang below the flower and rapidly constrict their flight muscles to vibrate the pollen out of the anthers. Some species of bees that know how to buzz pollinate in Sackville are Bombus, Lasioglossum, and Megachile. There are many more species that can buzz pollinate as well. However, honeybees can't buzz pollinate, so even though they are a largest commercial pollinators, they can't efficiently pollinate most foods.
