Arkansas, known for its picturesque landscapes and abundant flora, is home to many insect species.
Among these fascinating creatures, bees play a crucial role in pollination, ecosystem balance, and honey production.
In Arkansas, several types of bees buzz about, each with unique characteristics and contributions.
Arkansas has hundreds of beautiful and colorful flowers, making it one of the best places in the world for bee-watching.
Arkansas’s biodiversity includes numerous amazing creatures, including bees.
With their delicate wings and intricate social structures, bees play an integral role in pollination, biodiversity, and ecosystem interconnectedness.
As we delve into the fascinating realm of types of bees in Arkansas, we unveil a diverse array of species, each with its unique traits and contributions.
Most people know Arkansas has two main types of bees: social and solitary.
1. Bumblebees
Bumblebees are the most common bee in Arkansas, with about 12 species.
They’re fuzzy and yellow-orange with black stripes on their abdomen. Their larvae are white and puffy, looking like tiny cotton balls.
Bumblebees make a lot of noise when they fly, which can be heard from quite a distance away.
One way to identify bumblebees is by listening to their buzzing sound; they buzz while flying and working inside the hive.
These bees in Arkansas have very strong jaws that allow them to carry large loads, which makes them great pollinators!
2. European (Western) Honey Bees
Western honey bees are the best-known type of bee and the most common.
They are found throughout North America and Europe but were imported to North America from Europe by colonists.
These bees in Arkansas live in colonies with a queen, drones (males), and workers (females).
Western honey bees have been extensively bred to be docile, which makes them popular among beekeepers.
Their life cycle is similar to that of other bees: they begin with an egg that hatches into a larva, then undergo several stages until they pupate and emerge as adults.
3. Large Carpenter Bees
Large carpenter bees are one of the most common types you will find.
These bees are one of the largest species, with a body 3/4 inch long and an enlarged, hairy abdomen.
They also have yellow-orange hair on their face and an orange spot on their thorax.
The females do not have stingers, but the males do! The large carpenter bee is one of the most common types you’ll find in Arkansas.
These particular bees are among the largest species – three-quarters of an inch long – with a hairy abdomen and orange spot on their thorax. The females don’t have stingers, but males do!
4. Carder Bees
Carder bees are often mistaken for bumblebees but have thin, furry waists and black faces.
These types of bees in Arkansas are solitary and do not live in hives with other bees. They make their nests from pollen and plant fibers found on the ground.
The female carder bee builds the nest, lays eggs, and feeds the larvae until they pupate.
Then, she closes the nest to keep predators out until she is ready to build another one.
This is how these hard-working, solitary bees spend their lives – building nests for their children as fast as they can!
Completing the process takes them about two weeks, so carder bees can only build two or three nests at a time.
Female carder bees usually fly within 3 miles of their birth; males typically fly more than twice that distance.
All kinds of animals love eating adults and larvae when they find a nest.
5. Long-Horned Bees
Long-horned bees are sometimes called Stinging Bees for a very good reason.
These bees in Arkansas are about the size of your thumb, and their sting will cause intense localized pain that can last for many hours.
The long-horned bee is also known to have a nasty habit of repeatedly attacking its victim, unlike other bees who only attack once.
Long-horned bees are not naturally aggressive but will attack if provoked.
Their venom will remain potent for about 20 minutes, so it’s important to be careful when dealing with these little creatures.
If you get stung by one of these buzzers, keep the area as clean and dry as possible until you get home or seek medical attention.
6. Sweat Bees
Sweat bees are parasitic bees that use humans, livestock, and other animals as hosts for their larvae.
They are the smallest type of bee found in North America, about half the size of a penny.
The female sweat bee lays her eggs on or near a potential host, who then unknowingly carries them to their nesting site.
Once there, the larva feeds on the liquid sweat from the animal’s skin before pupating into an adult bee.
White-Faced Bumblebee: These bumblebees live in arctic regions with subarctic climates. Like all bumblebees, they have queens, workers, and males.
7. Digger Bees
Digger bees are one of the most common types of bees in Arkansas.
They are often mistaken for bumblebees because they build their nests underground but are solitary bees and do not live with colonies.
These bees live worldwide and can be found in sandy and clay soils, mostly near the water’s edge, in Arkansas.
Many species vary by color and size, but they all get their name because they dig holes into the ground to make their nests.
These bees measure about 3-4 centimeters long and have a yellow head with black stripes.
8. Squash Bees
You’re more likely to find these pretty yellow and black striped bees buzzing around the flowers at your local grocery store than you are to see them up in Arkansas.
The squash bee ( Peponapis pruinosa) is a non-native species accidentally transported worldwide through produce imports.
They’re also not alone: their cousins include the common honeybee and some other native species, such as the bumblebee and carpenter bee.
But this one stands out because of its taste for cucumbers. If given half a chance, it will spend all day pollinating them.
If you want to get close enough to take a picture, head to the market on Saturday morning when plenty of squash blooms hang off vines waiting for these industrious insects.
9. Polyester Bees
Polyester bees are part of the Megachilidae family, making their nests from pollen and plant resins.
They are also one of the largest types of bee, growing to be about half an inch long.
Polyester bees are most often found in parts of Mexico, although they can be found all over North America.
It is believed that they prefer to live near cactus plants or other desert plants, such as mesquite or cottonwood trees.
Some types of bees in Arkansas have very hairy hind legs, which allow them to carry large amounts of pollen as they fly from flower to flower.
Unlike many other types of bees, polyester bees do not require a water source.
They get moisture from the nectar and honeydew they collect while pollinating flowers.
10. Masked Bees
This bee is a member of the family Colletidae, and it is native to North America.
The masked bee has a brown or black body with white markings that give it an appearance that might remind some people of a wasp or hornet.
Masked bees are solitary bees, and they don’t live in colonies.
These bees in Arkansas live by making burrows underground, and they emerge during the day to collect nectar from flowers.
Masked bees can nest close to humans without causing any problems, which makes them an excellent option for people who want pollinators near their homes but don’t want any contact with other types of bees.
They also like nesting near plants and trees, so homeowners may find these bees nesting under bird feeders if there are any in the area.
If you come across one of these little creatures while gardening or working around your yard, leave them alone; they will be more than happy to fly away when you leave them alone!
The next time you notice one of these little guys buzzing around your garden or house, look closer – after all, he may just be looking for food or shelter!
11. Cuckoo Bees
Cuckoo bees are small solitary bees that belong to the genus Nomada.
They parasitize other species of bees, such as honeybees and bumblebees, by laying their eggs inside the host bee’s brood cells.
Once the cuckoo bee larva hatches, it feeds on the host larva or pupa until it reaches adulthood and emerges from the cell.
These bees in Arkansas are known for their parasitic behavior but also pollinate plants independently.
Contrary to popular belief, not all cuckoo bees lay their eggs in other bees’ nests; many species, like Nomada armata, are solitary and do not need a host nest.
Erythrophthalma, specializing in taking over abandoned bumblebee colonies (bumblebee queens only live one year).
Others find holes near ground level where they can spend the winter months before finding a new colony to reproduce come springtime.
12. Mason Bees
Mason bees are named after the type of bee that makes their homes out of mud.
They do this by chewing up plant material and mixing it with saliva to create a paste-like substance called bee glue.
The bee will then scoop up some of this mixture and form it into a little ball.
The bees will continue making these little balls until they have created a new home.
Mason bees are one of the most common types in Arkansas because they don’t need special equipment, like other honey bees.
They are intuitive about building homes from the mud like generations before them.
If you see little piles of small mounds on the ground, those are probably mason bees’ nests.
13. Leaf Cutter Bees
Leafcutter bees are medium-sized, averaging about 4mm. They cut sections from leaves and petals to make their homes.
Leafcutter bees have a very interesting caste system, with only females able to lay eggs.
Queens are born from fertilized eggs, and workers are born from unfertilized eggs.
As the worker bees age, they become nurses, guards, or foragers, depending on their age and ability to do each job.
The guard bee’s primary responsibility is to protect the nest by collecting resin that they use as an insect repellent to pass on to other colony members when it’s time for them to fly out of the nest.
Workers are tasked with building comb cells, gathering pollen and nectar, caring for larvae, and cleaning cells and brood chambers.
There is also a caste known as foragers, which collect pollen and nectar from flowers near the nest entrance.
When food is plentiful, forager bees will take full loads home, but if food sources dwindle, she’ll only take small amounts at a time to not attract too much attention from predators like birds.
14. Miner Bees
Miner bees are large, solitary bees that nest underground. They are black with yellow markings on their head and thorax.
Miner bees find an existing hole in the ground and burrow into it to create a nest chamber.
The larvae feed on the pollen stored by the adults before they emerge as adults. These are most commonly found near coniferous forests or streams with abundant blueberry bushes.
These bees in Arkansas can be very helpful in your garden because they pollinate plants and eat pests such as caterpillars and beetles.
