All bees are important to our ecosystem, but today we thought we would list 6 in particular to bring awareness to them.

Bees have a gentle nature and are popular insects. People think they are cute in their little fluffy coats. Many of us do not know how important bees are to our environment and the ecosystem. Some knowledgeable experts believe bees are the most important animals on planet Earth because of the pollination services they perform on many plants.

The 6 types of bees listed below are some of the world’s most popular bees.

Bumblebees

Bumblebees are one of the most beloved and popular bee species. There has been an abundance of them in the past, and they are one of the hardest-working pollinators. They are not fussy, and forage a wide range of plants, so countless plants benefit from their pollination services. Bumblebees build their nests underground, often moving into rodent nests. They have a gentle nature, and don’t usually sting or injure people. Please treat bumblebees with reverence. Many people show them no respect and kill them.

This unrelated 2:01-minute video by ProGardenTips shows 16 types of bees:

 

 

Mason Bees

Mason bees build their nests from mud and pebbles with pre-existing entrance holes instead of excavating their own. This bee often nests in nest boxes, so they are a favorite of gardeners. Mason bees are highly effective pollinators. A few hundred mason bees can pollinate more plants than thousands of honeybees. Like sweat bees, they are very small, so they can be hard to see unless you are looking for them.

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees are found in many places in the world. These bees are often considered a nuisance because they burrow into wood, even if it belongs to people in the form of decks, furniture, and porches. They are great at pollinating crops and flowers, and they do not damage the wood where they nest. Carpenter bees are very large compared to other bee species and they enjoy hot weather.

Polyester Bees

Polyester bees received their name due to them producing a natural polymer from their abdominal glands. They are ground-burrowing solitary bees that nest among other bees. Polyester bees produce polyester bags for each of their eggs, and store food inside these bags. Polyester bees are important to the world’s ecosystem because they pollinate plants. Without such pollinators, evidence suggests humanity would go extinct.

Sweat Bees

Sweat bees are also great pollinators. They are very small, so they can be hard to spot unless you have a sharp eye. They are very gentle and best defined by their dark brown, blackish color, or a bluish-green color. These bees do not live in colonies, they are solitary which means they live alone. Sweat bees are attracted to salt and like to lick salt from sweaty skin. If one lands on you and starts to feed on your sweat, don’t harm it. They are not aggressive and will not sting you.

Squash Bees

Squash bees round out our list of pollinators vital to our environment, ecology, and to humanity. Gardeners that grow squash, gourds or pumpkins will know that these bees pollinate them and help the plants to fruit. These bees work hard between sunrise and noon. They nest underground, but only in areas where soil is well-drained.

Always remember that bees are the world’s most important insects. If this post has brought you a new appreciation for bees, make sure to share this new discovery with friends and family. Be gentle with bees to avoid hurting them.

The more people that realize we rely on bees for our very survival, the more people will treat bees with respect instead of reacting in fear and killing them.

 

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