Beverley Beekeepers' Association

Buzzy Insects. A rough guide.

When you're out and about in the garden, a park or the countryside during any of the warmer seasons there's always something buzzing around.  And most of them are after one thing, flowering plants.
We don't usually notice them but occasionally something catches our eye, a Wasp that's too close or a Bumblebee big enough to give you a black eye.

Being Beekeepers we're often asked for advice or help with bees and other insects.  Though our primary interest is Honey Bees we do know a little about other related insects.
So here's a rough guide to what's commonly out there to help sort out 'What is that buzzy thing?'.

Insects are the only animal group to evolve the apparatus specifically for flying, all other animal groups with flying species have developed that ability from adapting other organs and limbs.

Insect. Common name	Description	Common species	Possible problems
Honey Bee	1 species in UK.  There are several sub-species(races), most Honey Bees in the British Isles are now mongrelised to varying degrees. Colours are from a dull yellow &  black striped abdomen, grey & black sriped abdomen, brown & black striped abdomen or an all black abdomen. Size(Worker) approximately 12 to 15mm (just over 1/2 inch) long. 20 000 to 70 000 per colony. Numbers peak in mid Summer.	Honey Bee (Lat, Apis mellifera)	Only females sting. Only the Honey Bee dies when they have stung. If one gets stuck in your hair or trapped in clothing it'll probably try to sting you. Should a colony establish itself on your property it is highly unlikely to cause any structural damage.  Can be a nuisance if they establish flight paths in areas where people frequent.
Bumble Bees	26 species in UK,  possibly more, with some variation within some species. Colour is species dependent & so highly variable but most distinctive feature is the colour of the backside and/or abdominal colour bands  which can help recognise a species.  General colours black, yellow, chestnut brown, orange, red, buff, & white. Size, again species dependent & so highly variable but anything from 10mm to 24mm. 50 to 200 per colony. Appear numerous throughout Spring & Summer as the different species peak at different times from late Spring to late Summer.	Buff Tailed Bumble Bee (Lat, Bombus terrestris) White Tailed  Bumble Bee (Lat,  Bombus lucorum) Garden Bumble Bee (Lat, Bombus hortorum) Red Tailed Bumble Bee (Lat, Bombus lapidarius) Early Bumble Bee (Lat, Bombus pratorum) Carder (Bumble) Bee (Lat, Bombus pascuorum)	None really. They can sting but you need to go at them with a big stick to rattle them. Should a colony establish itself on your property it is highly unlikely to cause any structural damage.
Wasps	Not bothered or loathe 'em there are around 8 species of  Wasp in the British Isles. Colour is species dependent but mostly very easily recognised by the vivid yellow and black markings. Size from 12mm(1/2 inch) to 25mm(1 inch) long. 1000 to 10000 per colony.  Highly variable. Numbers peak  from late Spring to late Summer.	Common Wasp (Lat, Vespula vulgaris) German Wasp (Lat, Vespula germanica)	Only females sting. If one gets stuck in your hair or trapped in clothing it'll probably try to sting you. If a colony establishes itself on your property it is highly unlikely to cause any structural damage.  Can be a nuisance if they establish flight paths in areas where people frequent. A frequent pain in the bum during Autumn when the nest starts to dwindle and the Wasps look for food elsewhere.
Solitary Bees	Hundreds of species in the British Isles. Wide variety of colours. Sizes from 5mm to 15mm in length. Two very broad categories, those that burrow and dig or take up holes in the ground are the mining Bees & those that create or take up cavities in or above ground i.e. cavity Bees. Do not form colonies.	Leaf Cutter Bee (Lat, Megachile species) Tawny Mining Bee (Lat, Andrena fulva) Red Mason Bee (Lat,Osmia rufa) Blue Mason Bee (Lat, Osmia caerulescens) Hairy Footed Flower Bee (Lat, Anthophora plumipes) No common name found but very common are the Colletes. (Lat, Colletes species) Wool Carder Bee (Lat, Anthidium manicatum)	None really. Only a few can sting and those that can very rarely do so & any sting is apparently mild.  You have to work hard to get one of these to have a go at you. Having a nest of these poses no threat to you or your property.  Despite the Mason Bee's name it does not do any structural damage.  It is exploiting what already exists.
Flies	Hundreds of species in the British Isles. Wide variety of colours.  But the ones Beekeepers get asked about are the flies that mimic Bees & Wasps in shape & colour.  The Hover flies are a common example.  A great evolutionary trick, you may not be able to sting a predator but there's no harm in looking like you can. All shapes and sizes. Solitary. The peak population for each fly species is quite short but there could be several generations over the Spring, Summer & Autumn depending on the local environment.	Around 50 species that mimic Bees & Wasps in the UK. An easy way to spot the difference between Flies & Bees is that Flies have two wings & Bees have four wings.	A very few bite e.g. The Horse Fly. But as far as being a nuisance that's about it, except when they're trying to eat your food, yuk.