nati are insects that are very important to life on earth. their work ... e. r. and k. kaufman....

leafcutter bee Megachile latimanus plasterer bee (male and female) Colletes sp. carpenter bee Xylocopa virginica rusty-patched bumble bee Bombus affinis

cuckoo bee Xeromelecta interrupta

leafcutter bee Megachile mendica American bumble bee Bombus pensylvanicus

sweat bee Lasioglossum pruinosum

sweat bee Dufourea marginatagreen sweat bee Augochloropsis metallica sweat bee Halictus ligatussweat bee (female/male) Agapostemon virescens

sleepy bee Anthidium sp. red-belted bumble bee Bombus rufocinctus

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©

BarbaraWilliams

Photo©

BarbaraWilliams

Photo©RobCurtis/TheEarlyBirder


Photo©MichaelR.Jeffords


mason bee Osmia georgica

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

sunflower bee Andrena helianthi

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer



Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

sweat bee Halictus sp.

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

common eastern bumble bee Bombus impatiens





Photo©DannyBrown

Photo©DannyBrown

Photo©DannyBrown

Photo©DannyBrown

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer



cuckoo bee Coelioxys sp.



common sunflower bee (male) Melissodes agilis

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©ChrisHelzer

Photo©JohannaJam

es-Heinz

Photo©JohannaJam

es-Heinz

This posterwas made possible by:

Illinois Department ofNatural ResourcesDivision of Education

University of IllinoisPollinatarium

Illinois Native Bees © 2016, IllinoisDepartment of Natural Resources

Bees are not shown in equal proportion toactual size.

ees are insects that are very important to life on earth. Their workas pollinators provides for the existence of many plant species andin turn, all terrestrial animals, including humans. There are approx-imately 400 to 500 species of bees that are native to Illinois.Because there are so many native bee species, their habits are varied. They live in wetland, woodland, grassland and urban habitats.

There are solitary, communal, semisocial and eusocial bees, as well as the cuckoo bees that are nest parasites and rely on other bees to raise their young.Some bees live in the ground. Others use existing holes in hollow stems, deadwood and rock crevices for nest sites or excavate holes in wood to form a chamber for their eggs. Like most other pollinators, native bee populations arein decline not only in Illinois but worldwide. Habitat loss, pesticide use, mites,competition from nonnative species and diseases are killing pollinators. Each ofus can take actions that can benefit pollinators, including native bees.

Kingdom AnimaliaPhylum ArthropodaClass InsectaOrder HymenopteraFamily Colletidae plasterer bee Colletes sp.

Family Andrenidae sunflower bee Andrena helianthi

Family Halictidaesweat bee Halictus ligatus sweat bee Halictus sp.green sweat bee Augochloropsis metallica sweat bee Agapostemon virescens sweat bee Lasioglossum pruinosum sweat bee Dufourea marginata

Family Megachilidae mason bee Osmia georgica leafcutter bee Megachile latimanus leafcutter bee Megachile mendica cuckoo bee Coelioxys sp.sleepy bee Anthidium sp.

Family Apidae carpenter bee Xylocopa virginica cuckoo bee Xeromelecta interrupta rusty-patched bumble bee Bombus affiniscommon eastern bumble bee Bombus impatiensAmerican bumble bee Bombus pensylvanicusred-belted bumble bee Bombus rufocinctus common sunflower bee Melissodes agilis

Species List/Key to Photos B

I l l i n o i s

NativeBeesNativeBees

Like most other pollinators, native bee populations are in decline not only in Illinois but worldwide. Habitat loss, pesticide use, mites, competition from nonnative species and diseases are killing pollinators.

As an example, let’s look at bumble bees. They require three types of habitat to complete their life cycle.They need a suitable area for nesting (such as an abandoned rodent burrow). They need a site for overwintering (like mulch or rotting logs). They also need an abundance of native wildflowers for food from spring through fall. If any of these requirements can’t be met then the bumble bees must move to a new location that is more suitable, live the best they can in a marginal habitat or die. Habitat loss is a majorfactor in the decline of native bees, but the addition of the other factors mentioned in paragraph one of thisposter section makes survival more challenging.Pollinators are vital to the continued existence of most plant species, the production of agricultural crops

and in effect to terrestrial life on earth. Each of us can take actions that can benefit pollinators, includingnative bees.• Plant native pollinator plants. A good pollinator garden has native plants that attract and support nativebees and other pollinators at all stages of their life cycle. Included should be flowers that provide pollenand nectar from early spring through late fall. Add flowering trees. Use plants with flowers of varyingshapes. Add bunch grasses to the planting for nest sites for ground-nesting bumble bees.

• Set your mower to mow at a higher level. Leave dandelion flowers and clover in spring for bees that areactive early.

• Provide habitat for bumble bees. • Buy organic and locally produced food.• Join citizen-science efforts to track bumble bee populations, such as the BeeSpotter program of theUniversity of Illinois.

• Provide shelter and overwintering areas for pollinators.• Use chemicals only when necessary and use the least toxic chemical options.• Save some dead limbs or logs in your yard or garden for native bees to nest in. Conserve snags, brush piles and pithy stemmed plants.

• Build a native bee nesting box. • Provide bare patches of soil for ground-nesting bees.• Develop a woodland, prairie, pond or wetland habitat.• Educate others about wildlife habitat issues.• Encourage land managers to increase native wildlife habitat.• Support conservation efforts for wildlife, such as the Illinois Wildlife Preservation Fund.• Leave dead plant materials over winter including the stems and seed heads.

ConservationConservation

Bees, some wasps and ants have the ability to sting. The sting structure is a modified ovipositor, or egg-laying structure. In the stinging insects, the eggs are deposited from the base of the sting instead of

through it as in a regular ovipositor. Only females have a sting structure. They use it for defense. The stingcan be used multiple times in all bees, ants and wasps except for the nonnative honey bee. The honey bee’ssting has barbs that anchor in the animal being stung. When the female honey bee flies away, the sting ispulled from her body. People generally only get stung by a bee if they step on it, pick it up or if gets tangled in their clothing.

Bees do not seek people out to attack them. You can stand quietly watching bees at flowers with no problems unless you are disturbing the bees. Honey bees and bumble bees may defend their nest, so youshould avoid those areas if you know a nest is present. Ground-nesting yellow jacket wasps (Vespula spp.) do sting readily and should be avoided. Bees are often blamed for the actions of these wasps.

StingingStinging

Bees are insects. As such, they have three body segments: head; thorax; and abdomen. They have sixlegs, and most insects have two pairs of wings. Within the huge number of species in the Class Insecta, the bees are classified in the Order

Hymenoptera along with wasps, ants and some other relatives. Hymenopterans have wings that are thin,and if present, there are four wings. The forewing is a little larger than the hind wing. Their two antennae(for touch and smell) are relatively long and segmented. Females may have an egg-laying structure that ismodified into a sting. They have mouth structures that allow for chewing. Their life cycle includes fourstages: egg; larva; pupa; and adult. Fertilized eggs produce females. Males develop from unfertilized eggs.

Bees are different from the other members in the Hymenoptera because they have branched hairs(plumose hairs) on some part of their body. Most bees are covered with hairs, but some species have morehairs than others.

There are so many different kinds of bees that it is hard to describe characteristics that apply to all ofthem. In the United States alone there are more than 4,000 kinds of bees. It is estimated that 400 to 500types of bees live in Illinois, but at this time, no one knows the exact number.

Not only are there are a lot of bees, but there are also other insects that resemble bees. In particular,some flies and wasps look a lot like bees until you examine them closely. Here are some tips for identifyingbees in comparison to wasps and flies. There are exceptions to every trait, though.

Beethick body with division between thorax and abdomen easy to seefour wingsno silver hair on facehairs presentpollen-collecting hairs on legs or abdomen of femalesstocky legslong, slender antennaeeyes on side of head

Waspnarrow body with very thin waist four wingssilver hair may be present on faceusually no or few hairsno pollen-collecting hairs on legs or abdomen of femalesspindly, long legslong, slender antennaeeyes on side of head

Flybroad connection between thorax and abdomen two wingsno silver hair on facehairs may be presentno pollen-collecting hairs on legs or abdomen of femalesshort antennaelegs thineyes facing forward and may touch each other

What are Bees?What are Bees?

BibliographyBibliography

Common Illinois BeesCommon Illinois Bees

Colla, S., L. Richardson, and P. Williams. 2012. Bumble bees of the eastern United States. The PollinatorPartnership, San Francisco, California. 103 pp.

Deem, L. 2016. ENTICE Illinois native bees. University of Illinois, Urbana. Presentation.

Eaton, E. R. and K. Kaufman. 2007. Kaufman field guide to insects of North America. Houghton MifflinCompany, New York. 392 pp.

Mader, E., M. Shepherd, M. Vaughan, S. Hofman Black, and G. LeBuhn. 2011. Attracting native pollinators.Storey Publishing, North Adams, Massachusetts. 372 pp.

Moisset, B. and S. Buchmann. 2011. Bee basics: an introduction to our native bees. U.S.D.A. Forest Serviceand The Pollinator Partnership, San Francisco, California. 40 pp.

Wilson, J. S. and O. Messinger Carril. 2016. The bees in your backyard. Princeton University Press,Princeton, New Jersey. 288 pp.

Equal opportunity to participate in programs of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and those funded by the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service and other agencies is available to all individuals regardless of race, sex, national origin, disability, age, religion or other non-merit factors. If you believe you have been discriminated against, contact the funding source’s civil rights office and/or the Equal EmploymentOpportunity Officer, IDNR, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271; 217/785-0067; TTY 217/782-9175.

Printed by the authority of the State of Illinois 12,005 - 11/16 IOCI 0202-17

Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Education • The ENTICE (Environment and Nature Training Institute for Conservation Education) training programfor teachers and other educators provides participants with background information in the topic, the opportunity to work with resources professionals, participation in hands-on activities and supplemental, educational resources that allow for instant implementation of the topic into the curriculum. ProfessionalDevelopment Hours from the Illinois State Board of Education are available at all ENTICE workshops.Workshops on native bees, pollinators and developing schoolyard wildlife habitat are offered regularly. Visit https:// www. entice work shops. com for the ENTICE workshop schedule and to register.

• The Schoolyard Habitat Action Grant provides funding for teachers and youth-group leaders to implement or enhance a wildlife habitat area on the school grounds or other public place. https:// www. dnr. illinois. gov/ education/ Pages/ grants.aspx

• The Illinois Biodiversity Field Trip Grant can provide funds to allow teachers to take their students on a fieldtrip to study native bees/pollinators. https:// www. dnr. illinois. gov/ education/ Pages/ grants. aspx

• The Illinois Insects and Spiders resources trunks are available for loan from locations statewide. https:// www.dnr.illinois.gov/education/Pages/ItemsForLoan.aspx

• IDNR publications may be accessed at https:// www.dnr. illinois. gov/ publications.

• Lessons, video podcasts and other information may befound at https:// www. dnr. illinois. gov/ education.

University of Illinois Pollinatarium• The University of Illinois Pollinatarium is the first free-standing science center in the nation devoted toflowering plants and their pollinators. http://www.life.illinois. edu/pollinatarium/

• BeeSpotter is a citizen-scientist program that educatespeople about pollinators by having them collect dataabout honey bees and bumble bees. http://www. life.illinois. edu/ pollinatarium/ page4. html

Illustrated on the front of this poster are 20 species of bees that are native to Illinois. They are representativeof the following families and genera of bees. Except where otherwise noted, all of them can be foundstatewide. The descriptions below include general characteristics that can help to identify these animals in thefield, but please be aware that many bees are difficult to identify without close examination of traits such aswing venation and leg structures. It is beyond the scope of this poster to provide that amount of detail. Formore information about identifying bees, use some of the resources listed in the “Bibliography” section of this poster. Also, the months of activity for the bees described below may vary due to nectar availability, temperature and other factors.

Family Colletidae - plasterer beesColletes spp. These small- to medium-sized bees (about one-fourth to nearly three-fourths inch) live in grassland, woodland, wetland and urban areas. They are active from April through September. Their abdomen is blackwith yellow stripes. They carry pollen in a basket on the hind legs. The tongue is short and forked. These aresolitary bees that nest in the ground, often close to the nest of other bees of this species. They may nest in the same area for many years. They use their tongue to paint the walls of the nest cells with saliva and thenadd a waterproof coating produced in the abdomen, giving rise to their common names of plasterer, cellophane or polyester bees.

Family Andrenidae – mining beesAndrena spp.Mining bees are usually red-brown or brown-black and fairly small (one-fourth to about five-eighths inch).Their thorax and abdomen may be hairy. They have a short tongue. Most members of this group are solitary.The females make nests in soil burrows and lay eggs in specialized cells that are usually coated with a protective waterproof substance produced in the abdomen. Mining bees start flying very early in spring and are important pollinators of spring flowers. They are active from March to September.

Family Halictidae - mining bees and sweat beesThis family of bees is very large. Its members tend to nest in soil or rotting wood. All of them have a short tongue.

Halictus spp.These medium-sized (one-fourth to one-half inch long) bees are known as sweat bees. They have a brown or black body with distinct bands of yellow or white on the abdomen. The head is longer from front to backthan on many bee species with a good amount of space behind the eyes. They nest in soil. The daughtersremain with the mother helping to expand the nest and raise additional offspring throughout the nesting season. They are active spring through fall.

Augochloropsis spp.Usually metallic green or metallic blue, these small- to medium-sized bees (one-fourth to about one-half inch) feed on nectar and the honeydew of aphid colonies. They are active April through September and nestcommunally in soil.

Agapostemon spp. Coloration in these medium-sized bees (one-fourth to one-half inch long) varies somewhat. The thorax isgreen in males and females, and the abdomen is green in many females. Males have a black-and-yellow stripedabdomen. Other abdominal colors for females include red-and-white striped and black. They are most activeApril through October. The nest is built in the ground, and they do not nest in aggregations.

Lasioglossum spp. These small- to medium-sized bees (from about one-eighth inch to one-half inch) are known as sweat bees.They have a glossy, semi-metallic appearance on the thorax and sometimes the abdomen. Some of them havea red abdomen. There are short hairs on the abdomen, and the antennae are placed high on the head. Theyare generally active from February through October. Because this grouping includes so many types of bees, a broad spectrum of nesting behaviors is exhibited. Communal, semisocial, eusocial and parasitic nesting behaviors are used by various members of the group. They nest in the ground or rotting wood.

Dufourea spp.Ranging from about one-fourth inch to about one-half inch in length, these bees are black to metallic blue.Found statewide in Illinois, these are specialist bees. They collect pollen only from specific types of plants,

although they may feed on flower nectar from a variety of plant species. Dufourea are solitary and nest in theground. They are active from March through September.

Family Megachilidae - leafcutter beesThe bees in this group are very common. Their body tends to be cylindrical with some yellow and blackmarkings. Females carry pollen under their abdomen instead of on their legs. Many of these bees nest in woodbut also take advantage of various human-built structures, too. They may have large jaws and some of themhave special pollen-collecting structures for use in tube-shaped flowers.

Osmia spp. These solitary bees (about one-tenth to about five-eighths inch) are important pollinators for the agriculturalindustry. For example, blue orchard bees (Osmia lignaria) pollinate plums, cherries and apples. Individualshave a metallic sheen of copper, blue-gray, purple or metallic green or blue. Each body section is more or lessspherical in shape. They are active from March to August. Some build a nest of mud, thus the name masonbee. Most use an empty cavity for their nest.

Megachile spp. The leafcutter bees paper their nest with pieces of leaves. They are solitary bees with large jaws that nest in woodand other cavities. Body coloration is gray to black often with white abdominal stripes. The body is stocky andfairly hairy, about one-fourth to three-fourths inch long. These bees are active from April through September.

Coelioxys spp.These bees are fairly easy to recognize by their black thorax, pointed abdomen and sometimes red legs and/orred abdomen. The size range is about one-fourth to three-fourths inch long. They are active from Aprilthrough October. Coelioxys bees are cuckoo bees. They parasitize other bee species, leaving their eggs for thehost to raise. The majority of bees in this group parasitize bees of the genus Megachile. The pointed abdomenis used to cut through the leaf pieces surrounding the walls of the host species’ nest cells. The Coelioxys beelays an egg that hatches very soon. This larva then uses its sharp jaws to destroy the host’s egg or larva.

Anthidium spp.These species (about one-fourth to three-fourths inch) can be found in all of Illinois except the northern one-fourth. They have black and yellow coloration. They are active from April through September. They aresolitary and nest in tunnels that already exist in a variety of habitats. Females gather fuzz from plant leaves toline their nest cells and make the partitions between cells. Sometimes, males especially, they defend theirflower source. Unlike most bees, the males are larger than the females.

Family Apidae - honey bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees, squash bees, cuckoo beesThis group of bees contains many species. They are hairy, large bees with a variety of color patterns. Most ofthem nest in the ground. Some nest in cracks or burrows. All of them have a long tongue.

Xylocopa spp.Carpenter bees are among the largest bees in Illinois (about three-eighths to one inch). The wings are dark-colored. Some of these insects have yellow on the thorax. They nest in wood, chewing holes to make the nest cavity. They are active from April through September. One way to tell the difference between a bumble bee and a carpenter bee is to look at the abdomen. The carpenter bee has fewer hairs on the abdomen so that it appears shiny.

Xeromelecta spp.There are only six species worldwide in this group of cuckoo bees that mainly is associated with deserts. Threeof those species live in the United States. In Illinois, they can be found in the northwestern and central partsof the state. They are parasites of digger bees. The antennae are thick, and the thorax has bumps. Body colorvaries from black to black with white stripes on the abdomen.

Bombus spp. Bumble bees are eusocial bees. They nest in the ground, among leaves on the ground or in piles of wood.These large (about three-eighths to one inch) bees have yellow hair on the head, thorax and abdomen. The abdomen can have other colors, too. They are active from March to September.

Melissodes spp.Active July through October, these small- to medium-sized bees (about one-fourth to three-fourths inch) areseen often on sunflowers and asters, although some of the species visit flowers of other plant families. Maleshave long antennae. Most of the species in this group are solitary, ground-nesting bees, but some nest inaggregations and a few are communal.

Educational ResourcesEducational Resources

Photo©AdeleHodde,IDNR

Photo©AdeleHodde,IDNR

Illinois Native BeesIllinois Native BeesNative Illinois species are organisms that were present before settlement of the area by people of

European descent. These organisms developed over a long period of time and depend upon each other. There are about 400 to 500 species of native bees in our state. They live in close association with plants

and receive pollen and nectar from many of them. In the process, they act as pollinators for these plants.What is pollination? It is the process of transferring the plant’s male reproductive cells (pollen) to the plant’sfemale reproductive structures (stigma and style) so that sperm and egg can meet resulting in a new plant.Not all plants need to be pollinated by an animal, but many of them do. Do the bees purposely pollinate the plants? No. They are interested in feeding upon the sweet nectar produced by the flowers and also in collecting some of the pollen to mix with nectar to feed their young. While doing so, pollen from the flowers’ male reproductive structures falls on them, getting trapped in the bee’s hairs. When they visit thenext flower, some of the pollen may drop off of the bee onto the female flower structures. There will still beplenty of pollen attached to the bee for it to use as food.

For insect-based pollination to work, the plants must bloom when their pollinators are active, and the pollinators must be adapted to the structure of the flowers. Bees are not the only animals that are pollinators,but they are the only ones that we will discuss here. There are short-tongued bees that feed best on flowers thatare flat. Other bees have long tongues and specialize in visiting tube-shaped flowers that have nectar too deepfor short-tongued bees to reach. Some bees have the ability to slit a flower to reach the nectar at its base. Thereare bee species that are most active in spring, and others that develop later in the year. Some examples of nativebees are bumble bees, carpenter bees, cuckoo bees, mason bees, leafcutter bees, sweat bees and mining bees.

Illinois is home to some nonnative bees, too. The most well-known example is the honey bee, Apis mellifera. It was brought to this country by settlers from Europe. Some honey bees escaped from captivityand established their own colonies in the wild. Native bees were pollinating plants long before the honey beearrived, and native bees continue to pollinate more plants than honey bees, although honey bees are veryimportant to agriculture.

Photo©DannyBrown

Photo©DannyBrown

Bumble bee with pollen trapped on its legs.

NestingNestingBees must have a place to lay their eggs where their larvae and pupae can develop safely. They construct

nests to raise their young. Some bees nest in the ground. They often choose a bare, sunny spot and diga tunnel to raise their young. About 30 percent of native bees nest in holes. The mason and leafcutter beesuse existing holes in hollow stems, dead wood and rock crevices for nest sites. Carpenter bees excavate holesin wood to form a chamber for their eggs. Other locations may be used as bee nesting sites, too.Solitary native bees make and care for their own nest. They may live with other bees of their own kind

nearby (aggregations), or they may prefer to be away from all other bees. Communal bees are solitary beesthat use a single entrance to the nesting site, but each bee digs its own nest from that point. Semisocial bees

work together to raise their young with the colony only lasting one year. The mother and her offspring do not inhabit the colony at the same time. Eusocial bees live in a single nest with the inhabitants sharingthe reproductive and nest-making functions. These bees include a mother and her daughters in a complexsystem. Cuckoo bees are nest parasites and rely on other bees to raise their young.In the nest, a mixture of pollen, nectar and saliva is formed into loaves. Each egg is provided with a

pollen loaf in a single cell. Mud, leaf pieces and sawdust are all types of materials used to build partitionsbetween cells. When the larva emerges from the egg, it feeds on the pollen loaf until it is time to enter thepupa stage.

Photos © 2016, IDNR

I l l i n o i s

NativeBeesNativeBees

nati are insects that are very important to life on earth. their work ... e. r. and k. kaufman....

Documents