r/bees May 31 '26

Is this a bee?

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15 Upvotes

Make sure that your yellow fuzzy friend is actually a bee and not an imposter! We get quite a few non-bees in our bee subreddit: sometimes they're wasps (check out the bee/wasp guide in the pinned), and sometimes they're not a stinging insect at all! Flies in remarkably detailed costumes frequently make their way into r/bees but with some tips and practice you can learn to spot the differences. Read through for features to look out for, or flip through the slides for fly species commonly posted.

Pictures are largely taken from iNaturalist with a full list of sources by slide at the end of this post, I assume that they are fine to use for free educational purposes but if the photographer would like me to remove their picture, please reach out to me so I can act accordingly. All pictures from slides 1-5 can be credited to mod Commercial Sail.

Flies are in a completely different taxonomic order to bees (flies are the order Diptera, bees are a subgroup within order Hymenoptera) so there are quite a few easy ways to differentiate them:

  • The name "Diptera" literally means "two wings" flies only have one pair of wings while bees have two pairs. Most identification rules are more like loose guidelines but this rule is absolute! That being said, the hindwings of bees are difficult to see, they're smaller and often tucked underneath the larger forewings, making the bee look like they have two wings after all. You can try to judge based off of wing shape: fly wings are often paddle-shaped with a clear curve before coming to a petiolate base, while bee wings are generally more evenly tapered towards the base. More experienced identifiers may also look at wing venation, for example the western honeybee in slide 3 has the very distinctive elongated marginal and submarginal cell circled in red.
  • On the topic of wings, on some flies you may see club-shaped structures where the hindwings would have been: these are halteres, specialized organs to help the fly navigate flight. Not all flies have them out and visible but if you do see them then it's a sure sign you're not looking at a bee.
  • Flies typically have short, stubby antennae that can sometimes be difficult to see while bees have comparatively long antennae. Make sure you're looking at the actual antennae and not the forelegs! More common in the wasp-mimicking flies, some will wiggle their long forelegs to sell their image even more.
  • Flies tend to have larger eyes that can seem to take up their whole head where bees tend to have smaller eyes with a clear distance between them.
  • Many bees may be seen carrying pollen or have their pollen-carrying structures visible: most often as hairs/pollen baskets on the hind legs or sometimes hairs on the underside of the abdomen. Flies do not have these structures as they do not need to gather pollen like bees do.

Note that besides the wing count, there are always exceptions! Some flies have pretty long antennae (though you'll often still be able to see the different segmentation) and some bees, particularly males, have very large eyes. This is why it's better to judge based on a combination of characteristics rather than looking at any one feature at a time.

You may also hear that the waist and mouthparts are good identifiers as well - this is true, but I elected to leave them out of this guide as the waistline may be obscured by fuzz, wings, or just a poorly-angled shot, and some bees are just so robust (fat) that it gets difficult to see where exactly that tapered waist is supposed to be. In terms of mouthparts, few amateur photographers focus on the mouth at all and it's definitely not something you'll typically see if you're just watching them go about your garden.

At the end of the day, the best trick is to just get familiar with species in your area using trusted sources like Bugguide. If you're still not sure, post to one of the bug identification subreddits and make sure you give a general location, which always appreciated in ID posts no matter what you're looking at!

Sources

Volucella zonaria: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/322106668 

Bombylidae: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/226072821 

Laphria: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/88331437 
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/282732509 
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65816664 
 
Cuterebra: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/133138438 
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90333390 
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/296063941 

Tabanus: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218653131

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/86467240


r/bees May 26 '26

What's this nest?

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14 Upvotes

Are you looking to ID a nest? Some are easier to distinguish than others, here's some of our most commonly submitted species:

  • Honeybee nests consist of exposed wax combs, usually hanging vertically. They're more often found in cavities like tree hollows or man-made frames but may also be seen constructed in open air attached to large branches or buildings.
  • Bumblebees also have wax nests but are typically smaller with fewer and more disorganized cells compared to the neat hexagonal cells of other social hymenopterans. They typically nest in small spaces like old rodent holes but will occasionally find themselves in human spaces like attics and crawl spaces.
  • Aerial-nesting yellowjackets and true hornets have an outer paper envelope covering the horizontally-stacked paper combs; nests are typically built in open air attached to branches or in sheltered areas with preference depending on species. The bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata, actually an aerial yellowjacket) may have a distinctive long tube entrance in early stages of nest formation.
  • Ground-nesting yellowjackets typically nest in pre-existing cavities such as old rodent burrows. The entrances are often dangerously inconspicuous but active nests will have individuals flying in and around the area. If the nest was dug up (often by skunks and other mammals looking for the tasty larvae) you may see ripped paper combs scattered on the ground.
  • The paper wasp subfamily Polistinae is quite variable but in the northern hemisphere the common Polistes sp. have distinctive umbrella-like nests with open cells. Mischocyttarus sp. in areas of the southern/western US may have more elongated nests. Nests tend to be built in sheltered spots such as in bushes, under eaves, etc.
  • The vast majority of other bees and wasps are solitary. They may dig tunnels, bore into wood, or refurbish existing holes with materials like mud/leaves/resin. *These nests generally cannot be reliably identified without seeing the actual bee/wasp!* Some species that construct their own freestanding mud nests may be tentatively identified, but only a few are reliably distinguished. Also note that many mud-nesting bees and wasps will reuse nests of other species left from past seasons if available as it's less work than building one from scratch.

The nest in the first slide is a young aerial yellowjacket nest.

Pictures are largely taken from Bugguide with a full list of sources by slide at the end of this post, I assume that they are fine to use for free educational purposes but if the photographer would like me to remove their picture, please reach out to me so I can act accordingly.

Sources

Cover: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/513938 

Honeybee: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/1227238 

Bumblebee: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/6585 

Aerial yjs and hornets:https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/781412 
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/110277 
https://extension.psu.edu/european-hornet 

Ground yjs: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/266282 
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/38722/bgimage 

Polistinae: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/2511987
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/709119 

Unknown mud caps: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218674183 

Unknown holes: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90931649 


r/bees 4h ago

bee photo UPDATE :Sluggish bee (bumblebee apparently)

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212 Upvotes

She cleaned herself for like 20 minutes. When she started moving around on my hand I went outside and she took off immediately :)


r/bees 5h ago

question Found a sluggish bee

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67 Upvotes

Really sluggish, barely moving her feet. Gave her some sugar water but she's barely moving around and I can't tell if she's dying or just tired

Anything more I can do or it's just a waiting game now?


r/bees 1h ago

bee photo Its a party in there

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r/bees 7h ago

bee photo Poor bee

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30 Upvotes

Found her dead whilst doing the drying up. It's actually kinda sad really. Shall we have a moment of silence for her?


r/bees 6h ago

bee ID I mostly get bumbles and sweats, first time I've seen one of these. Is it a honeybee?

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19 Upvotes

In eastern CT


r/bees 5h ago

bee photo I love seeing them enjoy our wildflower garden ☺️

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11 Upvotes

r/bees 4h ago

Is this bee just breathing/panting?

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9 Upvotes

It looks different than some of the other videos I have seen.


r/bees 5h ago

bee photo An embroidery you may appreciate

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8 Upvotes

My sister always likes these little guys so I made this for her.

It's turkey stitch, cut im to shape, beads for eyes, recycled plastic packaging as wings and strings as legs and antenna.

It isn't to stitch intensiv and has a great effect 🐝


r/bees 19m ago

Swarming the same spot?

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There is a house in my neighborhood that gets a swarm of bees to the same spot every few months. I’m not sure if they are calling someone to remove them but the hive gets removed. Eventually a new swarm shows up. Same spot, like every 6-10 months. Why do bees keep swarming to the same spot? Everything gets removed in between.


r/bees 1d ago

Some bees in my back yard...

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352 Upvotes

r/bees 7h ago

bee photo Update on the bee boiz…

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10 Upvotes

They continue to come to the same patch of garden phlox every evening!


r/bees 22h ago

bee photo Up, up and away

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132 Upvotes

r/bees 2h ago

question Are the wings gone?

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2 Upvotes

I found this bug crawling in my flower garden. Is this a bee and are its wings gone? If so what should I do and if you need a better picture let me know.


r/bees 6h ago

question Leafcutter/mason bees

3 Upvotes

So i live in a small farm town in colorado and have tried to make my yard and garden a good place to attract pollinators my lawn is all clover alfalfa and wild flowers (my chickens love it too) and for years I have never had a polinaton issue in my garden. When you would look out in the back yard at the ground it would be almost a carpet of bees.

But this year that is not the case. Now I see a few bees in the back yard and im at the point I have to hand polinate most things in my garden (giant pain in the back side)! Im definitely missing my pollinators.

I never had to consider bringing them in myself but now im at the point I think i should. I was looking online and see you can buy leafcutter and mason bees and build the hoses.

My question is is this a bad idea for some reason im not seeing and if not am I to late in the season to order them. We are in the 100° + every day part of the year right now. And if all that is good any recommendations on places to order from


r/bees 18h ago

I caught a bee in motion

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18 Upvotes

r/bees 1d ago

help! Can anyone tell me if this is the start of a nest?

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151 Upvotes

r/bees 20h ago

bee ID What bee has this color pattern? (NY)

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17 Upvotes

This is in upstate NY. Firstly, I know, the photos really suck. But the color pattern alone in the first 3 photos is something I cannot seem to find a match for online. It looks like T1-2 are orange-brown and T3-6 are black. T1 seems to be fully orange-brown and T2 looks to curve with black on the sides. In the field guides and online resources I’ve been looking through, all of the bees with some type of orange/brown/red color have the color in a different location.

In the same patch of flowers, I got a photo (the last photo) of a very similar-looking bee (also about the same size, as far as I can recall) that had yellow instead of orange-brown. I’m not sure what kind of bee this is either, but this definitely seems to more closely match some of the bees in the bee guides than the first bee does…

So I’m wondering if it’s possible that they’re the same type of bee, but one of them is just more orangey than yellow here for some reason? Does that ever happen in bees? I know that in the Northern Flicker (bird), some regions of the body that are supposed to be yellow can be closer to red due to diet. Obviously that’s an entirely different animal, but I’m wondering if something similar is possible in bees.

That aside, if you have any idea what kind of bee this could be, I would be very grateful!!


r/bees 1d ago

bee photo Many bees

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77 Upvotes

Huge bee hive at a commercial building I do pest control for. This nest has been here for 7 years and they’ve never stung anyone. Super cool to see so many in one place.


r/bees 5h ago

bee photo Queen Bee (the cartoon picture)

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0 Upvotes

A picture of the cartoon anthropomorphic female queen bee.


r/bees 10h ago

misc PHYS.Org:Bee brains reveal how colonies divide work without central planning

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1 Upvotes

r/bees 1d ago

Bumblebee Bathing 🐝

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198 Upvotes

Just taking a quick sponge bath 😂


r/bees 1d ago

bee photo What species of bee is this? 🤔

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34 Upvotes

r/bees 1d ago

An old lady

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47 Upvotes

Probably on her way to better flower beds