Bees & Wasps: A Review of Regional Species

Whitney Cranshaw

Colorado State University

Habits of Bees & Wasps

• Bees

– Social bees • Perennial colony (honey bee)

• Annual colony (bumble bee)

– Solitary bees (leafcutter bees, digger bees)

• Wasps

– Social wasps (yellowjackets, hornets, paper wasps)

– Solitary wasps (hunting wasps, parasitic wasps)

Honey Bee

Apis mellifera

Honey bee

Nest constructed

of wax

Wax flakes are produced

by special glands of the

thorax, then are molded

into comb

Developmental Stages of Honey Bees

Honey bee colonies have

specialized castes that

include a queen (fertile

female), drones (males)

and numerous workers

(infertile females)

Honey Bees

produce a perennial

nest

Honey bees – and most

bees – collect nectar as

their primary energy

source.

Frame Filled With Honey

One 8 fl oz “honey bear”

is the result of:

ca. 1,000,000 flower visits

-The efforts of 570 honey

bees making a total of

14,400 foraging trips

Honey bees – and

most bees – use pollen

as their primary source

for proteins, fats and

most other nutrients

Honey Bees Carry

Pollen in a Pollen

Basket on the Legs

Individual foraging

honey bees are

‘flower constant’

Honey bees can detect polarized light

Honey bees can detect ultraviolet light

The Bee “Dance

Language”

Communication of distance and

direction through hive dancing

Karl von Frisch

Round Dance – Short

distance to food

source (within 100 m)

Waggle Dance –

Communicates

sources beyond 100

meters of the hive

The waggle dance is

performed on the vertical

comb. Its orientation is

related to the angle of the

sun to the hive entrance.

The intensity (no. waggles/time) of the waggle

dance indicates distance of the source

Bee Dance Language • Direction

–Orientation of the dance on the surface of the comb

• Distance –Number of “waggles”/ intensity of

dance

• Chemical cues –Floral compounds for final host

location

Honey Bees

Produce a Perennial

Nest

Honey Bee Colonies

Produce Swarms

This may be thought of as

a type of budding as a

means for the colony – a

superorganism – to

reproduce.

Ideal Site for

Wild Honey Bee

Hive

-Located well above

ground

-Capacity of 15L to

75L

-Small entrance,

located at bottom of

cavity

The stinger of a

worker honey bee is

barbed

Honey bee stinger and

poison sac detach and

remain embedded in skin

Schmidt Sting Pain Index

• Attempts to rank relative painfulness of the sting by various bees, wasps, ants (Hymenoptera)

– 1 to 4 ranking

• Descriptive comments may be added

• Top ranking sting – Bullet ant (4.0+)

– “Pure, intense brilliant pain. Like fire walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel”

Schmidt Sting Pain Index

Honey Bee (2.x)

“Like a match head that flips off

and burns your skin”

Some Features of Honey Bees

• Colony construction material –

Wax (hexagonal form)

• Colonies have strict social

structure

–Queen, workers, drones

• Nectar and pollen used for food

–Pollen is carried on pollen baskets of

the legs

Some Features of Honey Bees

• Colony is perennial

• Reproduction is through swarming

• Stinger of workers is barbed

Honey Bee –

Flowering Plant

Evaluation

• Evaluate the relative use of flowering

plants by honey bees (and other

bees) in Colorado

• Identify plants heavily used by honey

bees

• Identify plants not visited/used by

honey bees

Top honey bee-visited

plants include: most

Sedums, most thistles,

catmint, Gaillardia, most

Agastache, Blue mist spirea,

Russian sage, fruit trees,

lindens, goldenrain tree ……..

Africanized bee – Apis mellifera scutellaris

Africanized Bees are:

• A strain of the honey bee (Apis

mellifera var. scutellaris)

• More likely to sting when the

colony is disturbed

• More likely to produce swarms

Africanized Bees are not:

• Substantially different in appearance from other honey bees

• More poisonous per sting than other honey bees

• Well adapted to areas where there are long, cold winters

Diseases of Honey Bees Include:

• European foulbrood (bacteria)

• Nosema (protozoan)

• Tracheal mite

• Varroa mite

Tracheal mites infest the tracheae of the honey

bee. This inhibits the insect’s ability to move

oxygen.

Varroa mite

The Genus Apis

• Honey bee (Apis mellifera)

– 24 races

• Giant honey bees

– 2 species

• Dwarf honey bees

– 2 species

• Eastern hive bees

– 4 species

Varroa mite transferred

from an Asian giant bee

(Apis cerana) to honey

bee in the past few

decades.

The worst day in

the history of the

honey bee

Bumble Bees Bombus species

Bumble Bees

Photograph by Bob Hammon

Bumble Bee

Stages

Top Left: Capped

Pupae

Above: Pupa

Left: Larva

Wax Storage Pots of Bumble Bees

Perennial Colony or

Annual Colony?

Bumble bees make

annual colonies

Bumble Bee Queen and Worker

Bombus huntii – Overwintered queen on left

Male bumble bee resting overnight on sunflower

Bumble bees carry

pollen in pollen sacs

on the hind legs

Bumble Bees

Are “Buzz

Pollinators”

Some Plants are

Dependent on Buzz

Pollination

Bumble bee

brushing pollen from

body into pollen

baskets

Commercial Bumble Bee Nest, Top View

Some Features of Bumble Bees

• Colony construction material –

Wax (round cells)

• Colonies have social structure

–Queen, workers, drones

• Nectar and pollen used for food

–Pollen is carried on pollen baskets of

the legs

Some Features of Bumble Bees

• Colony is annual

• Reproduction is through

production of overwintering

queens

• Stinger of workers is not barbed

Leafcutter Bees

Hymenoptera: Megachilidae

Solitary Bees

Leafcutter

bee nest

sites

Soft, rotting

wood is often

excavated for

nest sites

Leafcutter Bee Excavating Rotten Porch

Board

Leafcutter bee excavation in rotten garden timber

Leafcutter Bee

Damage to Rose,

Lilac and Virginia

Creeper

Leafcutter Bee

Carrying Leaf

Fragment

Leafcutter bee

returning with

leaf fragment

For nest construction:

3-4 rectangular pieces,

crimped for the base

Oval pieces along the

sides of the cell

Near perfect circles used

to cap the cell

All leaf fragments are

oriented with the smooth

side inwards

Leafcutter bee

collecting

pollen from

dandelion

Leafcutter bees carry their

pollen on the underside of

the abdomen

Leafcutter bee

working sweet pea

flower.

Note how the anthers

become exposed as the

bee pushes the flower

while nectaring

Leafcutter bee cells in hollowed stem of a weed

Leafcutter Bee

Boards

Alfalfa leafcutter

bees for alfalfa

seed pollination

Photograph by Sami Waters

Photograph by Sami Waters

Mason Bees

(Osmia species)

Predrilled wood for nesting by the

orchard mason bee/ Blue orchard bee

Note:

Tunnels

should be at

least 6

inches

deep.

Layered wood, grooved, with paper

straw inserts

Paper/cardboard

tubes for nesting

Paper straw inserts for cardboard tubes

Different designs for

mason/leafcutter bee nest

boxes

Used by mason bees

Used by leafcutter bees

A variety of hole sizes

– a variety of nesting

bees/wasps

Nest box designed to display internal nest

workings

Another design for a display nest box (being used by leafcutter bees)

Native Bee Homelessness

Prevention Initiative

Nesting Requirements for

Native Pollinators

Populations

Wool Carder Bee

Anthidium manicatum

Nests are made in

existing cavities. The

nest tunnels are lined

with plant hairs.

Male wool carder bees patrol and defend territories

Carpenter Bees

Ceratina spp., Xylocopa spp.

Large Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa sp.)

Large carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.) are not present in

most of Colorado

Woodpeckers

feed on large

carpenter bees

Small Carpenter Bees (Ceratina spp.)

Small carpenter bees (Ceratina spp.) are common

Small carpenter bees are one

of the insects that commonly

nest in pith of plants. Hunting

wasps (discussed later) are

another common group of

“pith nesters”.

Pollen stores of small

carpenter bee in pith of

ash twig

Small carpenter bees nest

in broken twigs – or

pruned roses and

brambles.

The cells for rearing young

are provisioned with

nectar and pollen.

Digger Bees, Andrenid Bees

Hymenoptera: Apidae (Anthoporinae)

Hymenoptera: Andrenidae

Solitary Bees

Digger Bees

Digger Bee Colony Site Near Roggen, Colorado

Alkali bee

nesting sites

Andrenid Bee

nest site

Sweat Bees

Hymenoptera: Halictidae

Solitary Bees

Sweat bee (left) and honey bee (right) in thistle flower

Sweat Bees

Schmidt Sting Pain Index

Sweat Bee (1.0)

“Light, ephemeral almost fruity.

A tiny spark has singed a single

hair on your arm”

Bee Flies (Diptera: Bombyliidae)

Bee flies develop as parasites of

ground nesting bees

Flower (Syrphid) Flies

Flower (Syrphid) Flies

Honey Bees

Syrphid flies are excellent

mimics of bees and wasps

Honey Bee …or Flower Fly?

A

B C

D

Yellowjackets

Vespula species

Western yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica)

Western

Yellowjacket

Top – Worker

Upper Right – Male

Right – Season

end queen

Some yellowjackets (e.g., the prairie yellowjacket) feed on

insects

Prairie

yellowjacket

Vespula atripilosa

Western Yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica) – Key

nuisance wasp of Colorado

Western Yellowjacket scavenging on

meat (left), dead earthworm (below,

left) and splattered insects on

automobile

Yellowjackets scavenge at weak honey

bee colonies and eat dead bees

Western Yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica) – Key

nuisance wasp of Colorado

Yellowjackets as pollinators?

Marginal, at best.

Yellowjackets almost always nest below ground

Western yellowjacket nest exposed by skunk/raccoon digging

Western yellowjacket

nest at base of wall and

spruce tree in my yard

Note mud at entrance

from excavations

during colony

expansion

Yellowjackets almost always nest below ground

Yellowjackets may

occasionally use

aboveground wall

voids for nest

locations

Wasp stingers are not barbed

Most “Bee Stings” Are

Not Produced By Bees!!!!

Yellowjackets are involved

in 90%+ of all “bee stings”

Schmidt Sting Pain Index

Yellowjacket (2.0)

“Hot & smoky, almost irreverent.

Imagine W.C. Fields extinguishing a

cigar on your tongue.”

Traps Useful for Control of Western Yellowjackets

Yellowjacket trap sculpture at CSU (August 2006)

Traps capture the

western yellowjacket

and the prairie

yellowjacket

Hornets Dolichovespula species

Baldfaced Hornet

Dolichovespula maculata

Baldfaced Hornet

Nests in Trees

and Shrubs

Baldfaced hornet

chewing on weathered

wood

Surface of a

baldfaced hornet

nest

Aerial Yellowjacket,

Dolichovespula arenaria

Aerial Yellowjacket

nests under eaves

and on sides of

buildings

The Stinger of

Hornets is Not

Barbed

Schmidt Sting Pain Index

Baldfaced Hornet (2.0)

“Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy.

Similar to having your hand

mushed in a revolving door.”

Larvae and Capped Pupal Cells – Baldfaced Hornet

Paper Wasps

Polistes species,

primarily

Paper wasp gnawing on weathered board for wood fibers

Photograph courtesy of Joseph Berger

Paper wasps native

to Colorado

European Paper Wasp

A new species in Colorado

(post 2001)

European Paper Wasp

Nesting in Metal

Building Support

European paper wasps in our

clothes line

Nest box for

European paper

wasp

European paper wasp

condominium project at

Boulder County

Fairgrounds

European paper wasp nest established on growing

sweet corn!

Photograph courtesy of Joseph Berger/BugWood.org

Large Nest of European Paper Wasp

European paper

wasp nest

occupied by

leafcutter bees

Schmidt Sting Pain Index

Paper Wasp (3.0)

“Caustic and burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a

beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut.”

European Paper Wasp

vs.Western Yellowjacket

• Predator of insects, primarily

• Produces open nests above ground

• Less likely to sting than most social wasps/bees

• Not attracted to wasp traps

• Scavenger. Commonly visits food and garbage.

• Produces below-ground or hidden nest

• Readily stings when nest disturbed

• Attracted to wasp traps

Traps do not

capture the

European paper

wasp or any

other paper

wasps

WHY Trap

Wasp

Hornet

Yellowjacket

Wasp Trap Study

Objectives

• What insects are caught in

wasp traps?

• What traps catch the most

yellowjackets?

• What lures are most

effective?

The two traps that

were most effective

at capturing

yellowjackets

Traps that were

very poor in

capturing

yellowjackets

The most active

ingredient in

yellowjacket

attractants is heptyl

butyrate

Traps capture the

western yellowjacket

and the prairie

yellowjacket

Traps do not capture

the European paper

wasp or any other

paper wasps

They also do not

capture honey bees

Traps Sold for Control of Western Yellowjackets

A totally useless trap to

capture yellowjackets – or

any local wasps

Another useless

yellowjacket trap

Waspinator – Attempt to

mimic nest of the

Baldfaced Hornet????

If it sounds too

good to be true –

it is!

European Paper

Wasp

Western

Yellowjacket

European Paper Wasp

vs.Western Yellowjacket

• Predator of insects, primarily

• Produces open nests above ground

• Less likely to sting than most social wasps/bees

• Not attracted to wasp traps

• Scavenger. Commonly visits food and garbage.

• Produces below-ground or hidden nest

• Readily stings when nest disturbed

• Attracted to wasp traps

Note trailing legs of European paper wasp

Western yellowjacket

European paper

wasps acting badly –

fruit injuries!

Hunting Wasps

Families Sphecidae,

Pompilidae

Hunting Wasp Habits

• Solitary wasps – no colony structure

• Young are fed paralyzed prey

• Nests are produced to rear young – Dug in soil, plant stems

– Constructed of mud

– Existing cavities

• Adults can sting, but are not aggressive – Sting of hunting wasps (Sphecidae) are mild

– Sting of spider wasps (Pomplilidae) are very painful

Ammophila wasp digging

nest (left), carrying

caterpillar prey (lower

left), at nest entrance with

prey (below)

Bembix wasp digging while holding horse fly prey

Golden Digger Wasp

– Predator of

grasshoppers and

katydids

Steelblue

cricket

hunter with

prey

Photograph by Bob Hammon

Cicada Killer –

Colorado’s

largest hunting

wasp

Pemphredon

wasps nest in

plant stems and

hunt small

insects

Backyard condominium project for pith nesting wasps and bees

Black and

Yellow Mud

Dauber

Black and Yellow Mud Dauber (Scleriphon caementarium)

Nest (top left), crab spider prey cache (top right), larva feeding on spider prey

(below left) and cocoons of pupae (below right)

Tarantula Hawk -

The largest spider wasp

Parasitic Wasps

Ichneumonidae, Braconidae,

Eulophidae, Trichogrammatidae,

Encrytidae, Chalcidae and other families

Characteristics of

Parasitic Wasps

• Larvae develop in, rarely on, their hosts

– One or more larvae develop in a single host

• They are invariably lethal to the host

– “parasitoids”

• Adults often have different food needs

– Nectar, honeydew

– Pollen

– Insect blood feeding may occur

Some parasitic

wasps

Females possess

an ovipositor

(“stinger’)

Parasitic Wasps – Male (left) and Female (right)

Ectoparasitic wasp larvae on fall webworm caterpillar host

Parasitoid larvae emerging from caterpillar host

Parasitoid larvae

(Cotesia glomeratus)

emerging from

cabbageworm host and

spinning pupal cocoons

Cocoons of

cabbageworm

parasitoid

Some parasitoids

pupate on the insect

host.

Left: Buck moth caterpillar

Below: Tobacco hornworm

Trichogramma wasps, a

type of egg parasitoid

Giant Ichneumon Wasp, Parasitoid of the Pigeon Tremex Horntail

Pigeon Tremex and Giant

Ichneumon Wasp

Fact Sheet 5.604

Pigeon tremex – a wood boring

wasp of deciduous trees in decline

Giant ichneumon

wasp – the most

spectacular natural

enemy of the pigeon

tremex

Parasitized psyllids (above) and

soft scale (below)

Parasitized aphids (above) and

whiteflies (black forms, below)

Bees & Wasps: A Review of Colorado Species

Whitney Cranshaw

Colorado State University