The BUZZ about Bees!

The day after National Honey Bee Day is a great time to talk about all of the other wonderful bee species in the world! Honey Bees are great, but did you know there are actually 20,000+ Species of bees in the world and more than FIVE HUNDRED different species in Georgia? When you close your eyes and picture a bee in your head (go ahead, we’ll wait) you probably list/picture things like stripes, fuzzy bodies, stingers, cute little antennae. And while that is what some bees look like, there is actually a TON of diversity in bees! 

For example, Carpenter Bees are not the agile bees that loop de loop with grace as they fly from flower to flower, they’re actually kind of BUMBLING (get it?). They are not graceful at all. With their large black bodies, coarse hair, and smaller wings, they often scare people because they seem to want to fly right into you. The truth is, they’re just clumsy and aren’t the greatest flyers. They are called carpenter bees because these bees nest in dry, dead wood.  In nature, this is typically in large dead trees – usually those that are still standing. In populated areas, the bees typically nest in fence-posts, decks, and other wooden areas on housing structures. Some people consider them as pests, but we think they’re very cute, plus they’re still excellent pollinators! 

https://extension.msstate.edu/blog/what%E2%80%99s-the-difference-carpenter-bees-and-bumble-bees

There is also the Southeastern sandhill cellophane bee, which is so rare that it was only discovered in 1997 and officially described in scientific publications in 2016. This bee is cool because it secretes a waterproof substance to protect its nests that looks like and feels like plastic! They have forked tongues sort of like a snake that helps them apply the substance to their solitary nests to keep them nice and dry. That’s right, they aren’t hive dwellers.

https://georgiawildlife.blog/2021/08/25/an-uncommon-bee-at-alligator-creek/

In fact, MOST bees do not make hives. More than 70% of all bee species are solitary bees. This sounds crazy, but these bees are living under leaf litter, and digging burrows in the ground, living in rotten wood, and even nesting in the sand. You can actually buy bee houses that have a lot of mini holes for the individuals to nest in, this acts like an apartment for bees in places where there may be less leaf litter due to human habitation! You can help bees like these by planting and protecting native plants in your yard, leaving your leaf raking for later in the fall, putting up a bee house, and keeping it clean and dry! The best time to clean a bee house is in the fall when most bees have already emerged and left their nests.

Bees and other pollinators are responsible for one out of every three bites of food that you take. Help protect all of them, not just the honey bees, so that we can enjoy fruits, vegetables, and the sweet honey we know and love for generations to come. 

READ MORE HERE: https://birdwatchinghq.com/bees-in-georgia/

When you visit Oatland be sure to stop by our bee hives and see what the buzz is about!