You may not realize them, but you’re probably already familiar with different types of bees in New York.
Most people are ordinary with the classic honeybee, which pollinates all kinds of flowers and crops worldwide and is responsible for making honey.
While there are only seven species of native bees in New York, there are nearly 1,500 types of bees throughout the United States that you might see around your home or garden, whether you’re an amateur or expert bee-watcher!
1. Common Eastern Bumble Bee
There are many types of bees in New York. One common type you may see is the Eastern Bumble Bee. Eastern Bumble Bees are large, fuzzy, and black with yellow-gold stripes on their abdomen.
They have vast, pot-bellied bodies and long noses pointed down to the ground when they are foraging for food.
They feed primarily on nectar from flowers but consume pollen from plants like clover or alfalfa, honeydew from aphids, and other sap-sucking insects such as leafcutter ants, psyllids, and treehoppers.
2. Western Honey Bee
Beekeeping is a great way to learn about the different types of bees in New York and other pollinating insects.
The Western Honey Bee, for example, is one type that thrives in this area. These bees are not native to the US but were imported from Europe by humans during colonial times when honey was a valuable commodity.
They are credited with drastically increasing our agricultural production by pollinating crops like almonds and squash.
Western honey bees can be identified by their striped abdomens and shiny black bodies with white or yellow bands on the stomach and wings. Queens are much larger than workers; they can reach up to 3/4 inch (2 cm) in length!
3. Brown-Belted Bumble Bee
You might be wondering, What are the types of bees in New York? Well, there are wide varieties! For example, the brown-belted bumble bee is a type we see often. It has a black and yellow stripe on its abdomen and can be found in fields.
The carpenter bee also lives upstate. It has a brown or black body and makes its home inside wooden posts or trees with holes and crevices.
The honeybee is another type of bee you may run into while exploring outside; they are usually yellow with black stripes on their abdomen.
This type of bee is seen more frequently than the others because it likes to make its home inside hives, which you can find near farms.
4. Eastern Carpenter Bee
Eastern Carpenter Bees are giant, black, and yellow insects living in eastern North America. They use their strong jaws to cut through wood and create nesting tunnels for themselves and their young.
Eastern Carpenter Bees are often confused with Bumblebees, but they can be identified by their large size and distinctive black-and-yellow coloration on the abdomen area.
Eastern Carpenter Bee females nest in pre-existing holes found naturally or drilled into structures like fences or beams, then lay a single egg inside each hole. The larvae feed on pollen from flowers until they become pupae and adults.
5. Two-Spotted Bumble Bee
Bumblebees are one of the most recognizable types of bees in New York. They’re easy to identify because they are more significant than honeybees and produce a loud humming noise when they fly.
They also have black and yellow stripes on their abdomen, which is how you can tell the two-spotted bumble bee from other types of bees.
Bumblebees have been around for a long time but have recently become more common due to environmental changes.
Unlike honeybees, bumblebees gather pollen on their hind legs instead of using pollen baskets on their front legs to collect pollen.
This makes them a suitable type of bee to plant near gardens because they pollinate plants by carrying pollen from flower to flower, just like honeybees do!
6. Ligated Furrow Bee
If you see a bee with a lariat-shaped furrow on its back, it is most likely a ligate furrow Bee. These bees in New York belong to the subfamily Colletinae and are one of three genera within this subfamily. It is also known as the Furrow Bee because it has lars resembling furrows on its back.
Ligated Furrow bees are found throughout most parts of North America but are not very common in the eastern United States and do not live beyond Illinois.
They are usually solitary or assemble into small groups for mating purposes only.
7. Pure Green-Sweat Bee
Sweat bees are a type of bee that feeds on sweat and oils from mammals, birds, and other arthropods. Sweat bees can be found all over the United States but prefer warmer climates.
They’re often seen hovering around flowers or feeding on nectar or pollen. They’re not significant pollinators, but they provide some pollination services because they feed on insects like sweat flies and mosquitoes.
8. Golden Northern Bumble Bee
Bumble bees are bees in New York characterized by their large and furry body. These bees in New York have short antennae, which are easy to see because they are usually surrounded by yellow hair.
Bumble bees live in temperate climates; their body length can range from 20-30 mm long.
There are three types of bumble bees: the Golden Northern Bumble Bee, the American Bumble Bee, and the European Bumble Bee.
9. Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee
Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee (Halictus confusus) are generally found on flowers but feed on tree sap and other sweet substances.
Bicolored Striped Sweat Bees have a bicolored body with stripes running from their head to the tip of their abdomen. Unlike many other sweat bees, this species does not produce honey and does not live in beehives.
These types of bees in New York are most active between 10 AM to 5 PM. The females use their mandibles to harvest pollen from flowers, then return to the nest, depositing it as food for the larvae.
In addition, when a male arrives at the nest with nectar, he will give some of it to his mate before she leaves again for more pollen gathering.
Males do not stay in or visit hives; however, if there is an abundance of males near one pack, it might also indicate an abundance of females nearby.
10. European Woolcarder Bee
European wool carder bees are giant, fuzzy-looking bees that can be yellow or brown. They are widespread, and this bee is often found in gardens.
The European wool carder bee is also one of the first bees to emerge in the early spring, so that they can be seen as early as March or April.
Their fuzzy look comes from the dense coatings on their bodies, which protect them from cold temperatures.
Unlike other types of bees, they do not create honeycombs but instead use pollen sacks that hang underneath their abdomens.
One type of bee you might see in New York is the Green Carpenter Bee.
These types of bees in New York don’t produce honey but pollinate plants by drinking nectar with a straw-like mouthpiece called a proboscis.
11. Tricolored Bumble Bee
A tricolored bumblebee is a relatively small bee that is usually black, orange, and yellow. They are often mistaken for honeybees because of the orange stripes on their abdomen, but they do not produce honey.
The tricolored bumblebee is an essential pollinator due to its high pollinating rate and large colony size.
The queen’s lifespan is about one year, and she can lay over 200 eggs daily. She lives inside her nest, which comprises many smaller cells.
After fertilization, the queen lays a single egg in each cell. Once they hatch, worker bees feed them until they pupate and become adults.
Some workers also become queens when this happens, so there will always be replacements when needed.
12. Two-Spotted Longhorn Bee
Two-spotted longhorn bees are one of the types of bees that you might see. They prefer to eat tree sap and nectar from flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
There is an easy way to tell if a bee is a two-spotted longhorn bee: they have two black spots on their abdomen.
Their wings are usually brown with yellow spots on them. They are generally smaller than other types of bees and look like they have antennae on top of their head.
These types of bees in New York can be found in places with fruit trees or lots of flowers.
13. Sculptured Resin Bee
Did you know about twenty different types of bees in New York? I’m here to tell you the various types and what they do. The sculptured resin bee is one type you might see buzzing around flowers.
These types of bees use their short tongues to suck up nectar and pollen from flowers. Sometimes they’ll also collect honeydew from aphids, a sugary liquid excreted by insects called plant lice. They then return it to the hive and turn it into delicious, nutritious honey!
14. Perplexing Bumble Bee
There are approximately 250 different types of bees in New York, but the most common type you find is the perplexing bumble bee.
Bumble bees usually combine yellow and black or red and black. They can often be identified by their fuzzy appearance, loud buzzing noise, and tendency to live around flowers.
Bumble bees have a similar look to honeybees, but they have a much larger abdomen. This allows them to store nectar from flowers so that they can use it as food for themselves or feed it to other bumble bees when they return home.
15. Unequal Cellophane Bee
An Unequal Cellophane Bee is a type of bee that has transparent wings. They are found all over North America, including up to Canada and down to Mexico.
These types of bees in New York are most commonly found on flowers, plants, and trees that produce nectar or pollen.
They are also known as sweat bees because they often land on human skin while they look for their next meal. When you encounter one of these beautiful creatures, you should let them be undisturbed by you.
They will not harm you but may give a painful sting if they feel threatened or disturbed. If you happen to frighten one, stay calm so as not to provoke it more than necessary, and then leave it alone.
16. Lemon Cuckoo-Bumble Bee
Honey bees are the most common type of bee seen and discussed, but many other types of bees in New York thrive in the state.
The lemon cuckoo-bumble bee is a medium-sized solitary group member with a metallic green sheen to its body.
They nest in holes on tree stumps, logs, or building walls and can be found anywhere between North Carolina and Maine.
Lemon cuckoo-bumble bees forage on low plants for nectar and collect pollen from flowers to provide food for their larval young.
17. Modest Masked Bee
Modest Masked Bee (Augochloropsis modesta) is a bee that gets its name from the white tufts on the sides of its head. It is native to Brazil and Paraguay.
The Modest Masked Bee has been introduced to other parts of the world, including Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America.
They are one of our most common species here in New York State because they have spread quickly due to globalization.
In appearance, this bee has a dark brown back with yellow hairs on the abdomen and markings that resemble a black eye mask over its eyes. It also has short wings and long legs.
