Elementary Ecosystem Investigation: Bee Habitat

*Click Here for Upper Grades (6-12) Version*

Investigate Bees and Their Habitat

There are over 20,000 species, or types, of bees in the world. 4,000 of these species can be found in the United States.

Bees play an important role in our ecosystems, and your outdoor classroom can help support them by providing habitat including food, water, shelter, and a place to raise their young.

*Click Here for Upper Grades (6-12) Version*

Investigate
Bees and Their Habitat

There are over 20,000 species, or types, of bees in the world. 4,000 of these species can be found in the United States.

Bees play an important role in our ecosystems, and your outdoor classroom can help support them by providing habitat including food, water, shelter, and a place to raise their young.

Bee on Clover Flower
Wikimedia – Radu Privantu

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Characteristics and Types

Bee Classification:

Bees are insects and share traits with other members of the insect group:

3 body segments (head, thorax, and abdomen)
3 pairs of legs
2 pairs of wings
Protected by an exoskeleton (a hard covering that provides protection and support and that can be found on some animals that do not have a backbone)
Antennae on the head for sensing or smelling
Compound eyes – contains many lenses that combine to form an image. Usually allows the animal to see a wide view.

Insects are further grouped based on physical traits. Bees,wasps, and ants are classified together based on their see-through wings. Insects within this group also have:

2 pairs of thin wings
Front and hind wings are held together with a tiny hook
Females have a long, hollow tube on the rear end used for laying eggs. This tube is specialized for stinging or piercing.

Bumblebee – Dreamstime

Differences between bees and wasps:

Although bees and wasps are classified in a group together, there are ways to tell them apart from one another.

Body shape
- Bees have a more hour glass shaped body that is more round.
- Wasps have a long, skinny body with a more narrow waist.
Body hair
- Bees are usually covered in hairs, appearing fuzzy.
- Wasps have a shiny body, sometimes with a few hairs.
Back legs
- Bees have short, broad hind legs, often used for carrying pollen.
- Wasps have long, skinny hind legs.
Wings
- The wings on a bee are more short and round in shape and touch or overlap when the bee is at rest.
- The wings on a wasp are long and slender and lay in line with the wasp’s body when the wasp is at rest.
Diet
- Bees feed on pollen and can be found collecting pollen from flowering plants.
- Wasps are predators and will hunt for insects and spiders. They do visit flowers for nectar or to hunt for prey.

There are around 4,000 species (types) of bees that can be found in North America. Some of them are easy to see and recognize while many of them live alone and are smaller than a
grain of rice.

Eastern Bumble Bee
Wikimedia – Ryan Hodnett

Black and Yellow Mud Dauber
Flickr – Judy Gallagher

Common Types of Bees:

Bumble

American Bumble Bee
Wikimedia – Judy Gallagher

Large body
Up to 1 inch in length
Do not have hairs on the abdomen (back most body segment)
Bag segment is shiny and black
Carry pollen on hind legs
Do not live in colonies (solitary)

Carpenter

Carpenter Bee
Wikimedia – Daniel Schwen

Large body
Up to 1 inch in length
Covered in yellow hairs on body
Carry pollen on hind legs
Social – live in colonies with a queen, workers, and male drones

Honey

Honey Bee
flickr – Hans Hillewaert

Small body
1/2 to 3/4 inch in length
Brown with black and yellow bands on body
Carry pollen on hind legs
Build hives where they store honey and pollen
Social – live in colonies with a queen, workers, and male drones

Check out this fun coloring page and fact sheet about Honey Bees from Kidgardening.org and Little Seeds!

Leafcutter

Leafcutter Bee
Dreamstime

Small body
Less than 1 inch in length
Mostly black with yellow stripes on the back segment
Carry pollen underneath the back segment
Solitary (do not live in colonies)

Mason

Mason Bee
Dreamstime

Small body
Less than 1 inch in length
Shiny green or blueish black in color
Carry pollen underneath the back segment
Solitary (do not live in colonies)
Will build nests near other mason bees

Check out this fun coloring page and fact sheet about Mason Bees from Kidgardening.org and Little Seeds!

Miner

Mining Bee
Dreamstime

Small body
Less than 1 inch in length
Shiny green or blueish black in color
Carry pollen underneath the back segment
Solitary (do not live in colonies)
Will build nests near other mason bees

Check out this fun coloring page and fact sheet about Mason Bees from Kidgardening.org and Little Seeds!

Life Cycle

Bees go through a complete metamorphosis (a series of physical changes as an animal develops) with an egg, larva, pupa, and adult stage.


Egg:	Females lay eggs in the spring in individual compartments in their nest. They provide nectar, pollen, and saliva near the egg.
Larva:	Grublike larvae hatch from the eggs and begin feeding on the nectar, pollen, and saliva.
Pupa:	The young enter an inactive stage called a pupa.
Adult:	The final stage is the adult stage. Females are usually the first to emerge, followed by the males. Females search for nectar and pollen. In species that live in colonies, the females that emerge continue providing nectar and pollen for the young. Male bees do not live as long as female bees. In many species of bees, the adult females will overwinter (go into a state of low activity level to save energy, similar to hibernation) and emerge in the spring to collect pollen and lay eggs. In social species, the queen will overwinter.

Bee Life Cycle
Dreamstime

Ecological Role

Bees are pollinators:

Bees pollinate native flowering plants
Flowers produce pollen (a yellow powder-like substance) that bees use for nutrients and protein
When a bee visits a flower, pollen becomes trapped in the hairs on the body
As a bee moves from flower to flower, pollen on that bee’s body is transferred among the flowers

To learn more about pollination, visit the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s Pollinators and their Habitats webpage!

Bees are pollinators:

Bees pollinate native flowering plants
Flowers produce pollen (a yellow powder-like substance) that bees use for nutrients and protein
When a bee visits a flower, pollen becomes trapped in the hairs on the body
As a bee moves from flower to flower, pollen on that bee’s body is transferred among the flowers

To learn more about pollination, visit the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s Pollinators and their Habitats webpage!

Bee Covered in Pollen
Dreamstime

Bees are important in food production:

Around 75% of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown in the United States depend on bee pollination

Buzz pollination:

Some bees, including bumble bees, can do a special type of pollination called buzz pollination
In buzz pollination, large bees vibrate their wings quickly while visiting a flower
The vibration causes pollen to release from that flower that would not have released if the flower was not shaken
Some plants like tomatoes, eggplants, pumpkins, cranberries, and blueberries require this type of pollination
Honey bees cannot perform buzz pollination

Some native bee species are declining in number due loss of habitat and pesticide use. It is important to provide habitats for them because they play an important role in their ecosystem and help pollinate some of our food sources.

Bees are important in food production:

Around 75% of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown in the United States depend on bee pollination

Buzz pollination:

Some bees, including bumble bees, can do a special type of pollination called buzz pollination
In buzz pollination, large bees vibrate their wings quickly while visiting a flower
The vibration causes pollen to release from that flower that would not have released if the flower was not shaken
Some plants like tomatoes, eggplants, pumpkins, cranberries, and blueberries require this type of pollination
Honey bees cannot perform buzz pollination

Southern Blueberry Bee on Blueberry Flower
Dreamstime

The honey bee is not native to the United States. The honey bee is originally from Europe, Africa, and western Asia. They were introduced to North America in the 1600’s as a source of wax, sugar, and honey.

Although honey bees are important pollinators of many of the crops in the United States, native bee species are often better at pollinating our native plants. Honey bees can also outcompete or take away pollen from native bee species in some habitats.

Habitat Needs

Bees require a habitat that provides food, water, shelter, and a place to raise their young.

Food:

Bees feed on pollen and nectar provided by plants
Pollen is high in protein and nutrients
Nectar provides the bee with sugars
Bees use nectar and pollen to feed their young

Click on the flowers to see the plant species commonly found in outdoor classroom pollinator gardens!

Food:

Bees feed on pollen and nectar provided by plants
Pollen is high in protein and nutrients
Nectar provides the bee with sugars
Bees use nectar and pollen to feed their young

Click on the flowers to see the plant species commonly found in outdoor classroom pollinator gardens!

Bee Feeding on Dandelion Pollen
flickr – nutmeg66

Water:

Bees require a source of freshwater
They often drink from puddles on the ground, shallow bird baths, or other sources of shallow water

Shelter:

Bees build nests where they raise their young
To escape harsh weather or to avoid threats, bees may take shelter under plants, under tree bark, or in cracks in a log

Water:

Bees require a source of freshwater
They often drink from puddles on the ground, shallow bird baths, or other sources of shallow water

Shelter:

Bees build nests where they raise their young
To escape harsh weather or to avoid threats, bees may take shelter under plants, under tree bark, or in cracks in a log

Shallow Mud Puddle
flickr – daveynin

Places to Raise Young:

Different types of bees build different types of nests where they raise their young
Some bees live alone
Some bees are social live in colonies or groups
Most species of bees build nests in the ground
Bees go through a complete metamorphosis (series of physical changes that occur as the animal develops), and the nest provides a safe place to raise the young
Most bees build chambers within the nest
- They will lay an egg in each chamber and provide nectar, pollen, and saliva to feed the young.

Places to Raise Young:

Different types of bees build different types of nests where they raise their young
Some bees live alone
Some bees are social live in colonies or groups
Most species of bees build nests in the ground
Bees go through a complete metamorphosis
(series of physical changes that occur as the animal develops), and the nest provides a safe place to raise the young
Most bees build chambers within the nest
- They will lay an egg in each chamber and provide nectar, pollen, and saliva to feed the young.

Some species of bees are considered social. Social species live in colonies and divide the foraging, defense, and reproductive responsibilities among different groups. The queen is the largest female and is responsible for laying the eggs. Other females are called workers and are responsible for taking care of the young and defending the colony. Males are responsible for reproduction and do not take part in caring for the young or defending the colony.

Supporting Bees in your Backyard Habitat:

Plant a variety of native flowering plants
- Native plants are those that naturally exist in a region (were not brought there by humans)
- Some bees feed on many types of flowers while others feed on a specific type of flower

To learn more about native plants, visit the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s LSI: Native Plants webpage!

Have flowers that bloom at different times throughout the year
Do not use harsh chemicals on plants to control unwanted insects
- If chemicals are necessary, do not apply them to the flowers
Provide a puddling station or shallow bird bath
Leave tree snags, fallen leaves, and a bare patch of soil for bees to use as nesting sites

Mixed Wildflowers
Wikimedia – Alabama Extension

Puddling Station
pixabay – Seachild

Common Types of Bee Nests:

Bumble

Bumblebee Nest
Wikimedia – Panoramedia

Bumble bees are a type of mining bee
Build nests underground or near the ground
Use an underground hole or under piles of dead leaves

Carpenter

Carpenter Bee Nest
Wikimedia – A. Thom Wolf

Females have special mouthparts that allow them to tunnel into wood
Create tunnels into soft wood including old trees, decks, or outdoor furniture

Honey

Honey Bee Nest
Dreamstime

Build a hive using wax made by the bee
The hive has many cells (compartments), each which holds one egg that develops into a grub-like larva
Hives are usually built where there is some protection

Leafcutter

Leafcutter Bee Nest
flickr – rodtuk

Nest in already existing holes
Cut rounded portions of leaves to line tunnels and to cover the tunnel exit for protection

Mason

Mason Bee Nest
Wikimedia – tpjunier

Nest in already existing holes
Use mud to separate tunnels and to plug the ends of tunnels for protection

Miner

Miner Bee Nest
flickr – bramblejungle

Dig tunnels that are slightly wider than the body
Prefer a bare spot of ground where flooding is unlikely
The end of each tunnel serves as a nursery for an egg that develops into a larva

Paper Wasp Nest
Dreamstime

Wasps are similar to bees in that some species are solitary while other species are social, and some species nest in the ground or tree cavities while others build hives. Wasps use wood fibers from old trees to create their hives. They chew the wood fibers and create a paste-like substance consisting of the wood fibers and saliva. This paste is used to create papery looking cells where the young will be cared for by the colony.

Interesting Facts

Bees go through a complete metamorphosis (a series of physical changes as an animal develops) with an egg, larva, pupa, and adult stage.


#1:	Bees have structures that allow them to easily collect and carry pollen. Many bees have special pollen pouches, either on their legs or under their body. Bees will often be seen brushing their hairs with their legs. When they do this, they are moving pollen from the hairs on their body into these special pouches.
#2:	Only female bees can sting! In bees and wasps, the tube on the back of the body that is used to lay eggs is specialized to sting. Male bees do not have this structure. Bees will only sting if threatened. If you see a bee, it is best to leave it alone!
#3:	Because bees have the ability to sting, some animals have learned to avoid them. There are some types of flies that look like bees which helps them avoid threats. These flies do not have the ability to sting. Features that can help distinguish a fly from a bee are: Flies only have one pair of wings, while bees have two pairs Flies have large eyes on the front of their head Flies have a wider body with no distinct waist The back legs on a fly are long and skinny Flies do not have hairy bodies
#4:	Many bees, like most insects, are cold-blooded (do not generate their own body heat). However, bumble bees do have the ability to generate their own body heat by rappidly vibrating their flight muscles. This behavior allows them warm themselves before flight and to keep their young warm.

Bee Pollen Pouch
Dreamstime

Yellowjacket Hover Fly
flickr – Roy Niswanter

INFORMATION SOURCES

United States Geological Survey
USGS Pollinator Week

Bee Basics
An Introcudtion to our Native Bees

HABITAT LEARNING LAB: