Bees

Bees are a well-known, charismatic group of insects that not only add life to our gardens throughout the warmer months but also provide an invaluable service in the form of pollination. What is unknown to many however is quite how many different kinds of bee occur on the island of Ireland. There are just over 100 species of bee in Ireland. Of these, 22 are bumblebees, 1 is the familiar Honey Bee and the rest are solitary bees. Those which I have recorded have dedicated pages below outlining some basic identification aids, Irish distribution, habitat preferences, flight period and the flowers they are each likely to visit, as well as details of my own personal records. As is the case with the butterfly species accounts on this website, there is information regarding the flowers which are visited by each species of bee, however due to my focus being solely on Irish species, I have decided to omit the scientific species names of these plants as they all have common English names, which are more familiar to most people. If you think it would be beneficial for me to include the scientific names of the plants mentioned, please contact me and let me know!

Bumblebees (genus Bombus)

Bumblebees (genus Bombus) are among the largest and most familiar of Irish bees. Five individual species and one species complex would be considered widespread and common in Ireland, whilst the remainder would range from locally common to very rare. Bumblebees form colonies, which can range from 50 to over 300 individuals depending on the species. Queens will emerge first, again depending on the species this usually occurs between March and May. She will replenish her fat reserves by feeding on spring flowers before finding a suitable site in which to construct a nest, which can be built in old mouse burrows, grassy tussocks, under shrubs or occasionally old nest boxes and tree crevices. She lays several eggs which hatch to become workers (a female caste incapable of reproduction). These will emerge a few weeks later and generally are the easiest type to find and observe. Males and new queens (of which the latter will hibernate and begin the cycle again the following year) emerge last, usually between June-August in most species. Workers and males tend to die off completely by mid autumn and around this time the new queens will find a suitable spot to spend the winter. For some species (like Bombus terrestris) queens and even workers have been observed right through the winter, indicating that activity is sometimes resumed in mild weather.

Great Yellow Bumblebee (Bombus distinguenedus)

Shrill Carder Bumblebee (Bombus sylvarum)

Red-tailed Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus rupestris)

Vestal Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus vestalis)

Barbut’s Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus barbutellus)

The Honey Bee (genus Apis)

The European Honey Bee is the only member of the genus Apis in Ireland. It is widely kept commercially for the production of honey and beeswax as well as the services it offers in the form of pollination. Like the bumblebees, it forms colonies which are started by a single queen, before workers are produced and eventually males, known as drones.

European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Solitary bees

Solitary bees are those which do not form colonies, instead nesting in individual and occasionally shared burrows, holes and other other crevices. It is a varied group containing members from several different genera, including Colletes Bees (Colletes) Mining Bees (Andrena), Furrow Bees (Lasioglossum and Halictus), Yellow-face Bees (Hylaeus), Leafcutter Bees (Megachile), Mason Bees (Osmia), Wool Carder Bees (Anthidium), Sharp-tailed Bees (Coelioxys), Nomad Bees (Nomada) and Blood Bees (Sphecodes).

Colletes Bees (genus Colletes)

Medium-sized bees with compact bodies, furry thoraxes and strongly banded abdomens. There are five species which have been recorded in Ireland, the most recent addition being the Ivy Bee which was first observed in Co. Wexford in 2021. They are primarily bees of summer and autumn, flying between June and October depending on the species. Most nest underground in sand banks, bare patches of clay or gravelly mounds. Some may occasionally nest above ground in brickwork or old wood.

Davies’ Colletes Bee (Colletes daviesanus)

Northern Colletes Bee (Colletes floralis)

Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae)

Bare-saddled Colletes Bee (Colletes similis)

Heather Colletes Bee (Colletes succinctus)

Yellow-faced Bees (genus Hylaeus)

These are typically small, predominantly black species with variable yellow markings in the facial area and sometimes on the legs or thorax. In most species, the male has much more yellow colouration than the female. Four species are found in Ireland which typically fly from late spring to summer, depending on the species. Nesting usually occurs in cavities above ground, such as old bramble or hogweed stems and they will on occasion use bee hotels.

Short-horned Yellow-faced Bee (Hylaeus brevicornis)

White-jawed Yellow-faced Bee (Hylaeus confusus)

Common Yellow-faced Bee (Hylaeus communis)

Hairy Yellow-faced Bee (Hylaeus hyalinatus)

Mining Bees (genus Andrena)

Small to large bees which typically have a hairy thorax and a hairless or someqhat hairy abdomen. Many fly quite early in spring but some emerge later in July or August. 27 species have been recorded in Ireland, ranging from widespread and common species to those which may well be extinct. As their name suggests, they usually construct underground burrows in which to nest.

Groove-faced Mining Bee (Andrena angustior)

Large Sallow Mining Bee (Andrena apicata)

Sandpit Mining Bee (Andrena barbilabris)

Gwynne’s Mining Bee (Andrena bicolor)

Ashy Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria)

Clarke’s Mining Bee (Andrena clarkella)

Small Flecked Mining Bee (Andrena coitana)

Grey-banded Mining Bee (Andrena denticulata)

Painted Mining Bee (Andrena fucata)

Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva)

Heather Mining bee (Andrena fuscipes)

Early Mining Bee (Andrena haemorrhoa)

Buff-tailed Mining Bee (Andrena humilis)

Bilberry Mining Bee (Andrena lapponica)

Small Scabious Mining Bee (Andrena marginata)

Common Mini-mining Bee (Andrena minutula)

Buff Mining Bee (Andrena nigroaenea)

Scarce Black Mining Bee (Andrena nigrospina)

Small Sallow Mining Bee (Andrena praecox)

Perkin’s Mining Bee (Andrena rosae)

Chocolate Mining bee (Andrena scotica)

Shiny-margined Mini-mining Bee (Andrena semilaevis)

Impunctate Mini-miner (Andrena subopaca)

Tormentil Mining Bee (Andrena tarsata)

Trimmer’s Mining Bee (Andrena trimmerana)

Wilke’s Mining bee (Andrena wilkella)

Furrow Bees (genera Halictus and Lasioglossum)

Very small to medium-sized bees which are often sparsely haired and dark in colour. They are easily overlooked and likely to be highly under-recorded. 13 exist in Ireland of which two are Halicitus species and the remainder are Lasioglossum species. Phenologies of all species are similar, with females emerging in spring and flying throughout the summer, whilst the males only appear in early or mid-summer. They usually nest underground in burrows and range from widespread and common to very rare.

Orange-legged Furrow Bee (Halictus rubicundus)

Bronze Furrow Bee (Halictus tumulorum)

Bloomed Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum albipes)

Common Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum calceatum)

Turquoise Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum cupromicans)

Smooth-faced Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum fratellum)

Furry-claspered Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum lativentre)

White-footed Green Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum leucopus)

Neat Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum nitidiusculum)

Long-faced Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum punctatissimum)

Rufous-footed Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum rufitarse)

Smeathman’s Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum smeathmanellum)

Shaggy Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum villosulum)

Blood Bees (genus Sphecodes)

Very small to medium-sized bees, all with virtually hairless bodies, a characteristic red abdomen with a black tip, a black thorax and black head. There are at least 7 species in Ireland with a possible eighth spotted in 2004. They are cleptoparasitic, mostly using members of the previous group as hosts (Lasioglossum and Halictus, although one species uses Andrena barbilabris). Like them, they are small, overlooked and generally very difficult to identify which means that all species are seriously under-recorded.

Bare-saddled Blood Bee (Sphecodes ephippius)

Dull-headed Blood Bee (Sphecodes ferruginatus)

Geoffroy’s Blood Bee (Sphecodes geoffrellus)

Dark-winged Blood Bee (Sphecodes gibbus)

Furry-bellied Blood Bee (Sphecodes hyalinatus)

Box-headed Blood Bee (Sphecodes monilicornis)

Sandpit Blood Bee (Sphecodes pellucidus)

Wool Carder Bees (genus Anthidium)

Rather robust and relatively large bees which use fibers and hairs from various plants for nest construction, hence the common name. There is only one species in Ireland, Anthidium manicatum which arrived in the southeast of the island in 2015. It has a chunky build and is predominantly black in colour, with variable yellow spots on the abdomen and pale grey or whiteish hairs on the thorax and legs, making it unmistakable Unusually for bees, the males are larger than the females and can be highly territorial.

Wool Carder Bee (Anthidium manicatum)

Mason Bees (genus Osmia)

Medium-sized to large species with a hairy thorax and abdomen. One species is historically native to Ireland (Osmia aurulenta), with another species (Osmia bicornis) recently becoming established since its introduction in 2003. In 2019, a third species (Osmia caerulescens) was discovered in Co. Down which was followed a year later by the discovery of another population in Co. Cork. Both populations appear to be established and have been observed breeding. Nesting typically occurs above ground and in the case of the latter two species, ‘bee hotels’ are often used. Osmia aurulenta nests in old snail shells.

Gold-fringed Mason Bee (Osmia aurulenta)

Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis)

Blue Mason Bee (Osmia caerulescens)

Leafcutter Bees (genus Megachile)

A well-named group, as the females will cut round sections of leaves with their mandibles before bringing it back to their nesting sites where they use it to line the inside of their burrow, which is usually constructed in dead wood (excluding Megachile maritima). All are medium-sized to large species with a hairy face, thorax and abdomen. Females in particular have dense coloured hairs on the underside of the abdomen called a scopa, which is used to carry pollen. Four or possibly five species occur in Ireland, of which three are widespread and one is local. A doubtful record exists for Megachile ligniseca. Males typically emerge a few days before the females and all species are on the wing at similar times, generally between June and September.

Patchwork Leafcutter Bee (Megachile centuncularis)

Coastal Leafcutter Bee (Megachile maritima)

Brown-footed Leafcutter Bee (Megachile versicolor)

Willughby’s Leafcutter Bee (Megachile willughbiella)

Sharp-tailed Bee (genus Coelioxys)

Medium-sized cletoparasitic bees which use various species of leafcutters as hosts. They are well named as the females possess a noticeably tapered abdomen which culminates in a rather narrow point. Males are typically similar in size with a squat abdomen which has a number of short projections at the posterior end. There are two species in Ireland which are bother rather scarce, appearing in low numbers even at good sites. The precise hosts used by each are not fully known here, but C. inermis has been bred from nests of Megachile versicolor and is suspected to use M. centuncularis also. C. elongata uses M. willughbiella in Britain and probably uses the same species in Ireland at least.

Dull-vented Sharp-tailed Bee (Coelioxys elongata)

Shiny-vented Sharp-tailed Bee (Coelioxys inermis)

Nomad Bees (genus Nomada)

Medium-sized to very small wasp-like bees which are cleptoparasites on other solitary bees, often Andrena or Lasioglossum species. In the case of this group in particular, adult females will lay eggs in the burrows of their host species, which will then hatch and the developing larvae will consume the pollen deposited for the hosts’ own larvae. Most species fly in spring and early summer, with a few flying until early autumn.

Silver-sided Nomad Bee (Nomada argentata)

Fabricius’ Nomad Bee (Nomada fabriciana)

Little Nomad Bee (Nomada flavoguttata)

Gooden’s Nomad Bee (Nomada goodeniana)

Early Nomad Bee (Nomada leucophthalma)

Marsham’s Nomad Bee (Nomada marshamella)

Flat-ridged Nomad Bee (Nomada obtusifrons)

Panzer’s Nomad Bee (Nomada panzeri)

Fork-jawed Nomad Bee (Nomada ruficornis)

Black-horned Nomad Bee (Nomada rufipes)

Sheppard’s Nomad Bee (Nomada sheppardana)

Blunt-jawed Nomad Bee (Nomada striata)

Carpenter Bees (Genus Xylocopa)

Very large bees which rival even the largest bumblebee queens in terms of size. One species has been recorded as a vagrant in Ireland, the Violet Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa violacea). It is a predominately black bee with a strong purple iridescence, a largely hairless body and smoky purple-brown wings. Nesting typically occurs in tree stumps, wooded posts and fallen trees, but breeding has not been recorded in Ireland.

Violet Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa violaceae)

Other European Bees

Whilst Ireland has just over 100 bee species, there are well over 2000 species which inhabit the rest of Europe and Anatolia, a few of which I have been fortunate enough to find whilst travelling abroad:

Dark-winged Bumblebee (Bombus agrillaceus)

Brown-banded Carder-Bumble Bee (Bombus humilis)

Wurflen’s Bumblebee (Bombus mastrucatus)

Black-backed Bumblebee (Bombus mesomelas)

Snowy Bumblebee (Bombus niveatus)

Persian Bumblebee (Bombus persicus)

Sichel’s Bumblebee (Bombus sichelii)

Sulfur Bumblebee (Bombus sulfureus)

Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus zonatus)

Andrena abjecta

Violet-winged Mining Bee (Andrena agilissima)

Alfken’s Mini-miner (Andrena alfkenella)