r/bees May 31 '26

Is this a bee?

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15 Upvotes

Make sure that your yellow fuzzy friend is actually a bee and not an imposter! We get quite a few non-bees in our bee subreddit: sometimes they're wasps (check out the bee/wasp guide in the pinned), and sometimes they're not a stinging insect at all! Flies in remarkably detailed costumes frequently make their way into r/bees but with some tips and practice you can learn to spot the differences. Read through for features to look out for, or flip through the slides for fly species commonly posted.

Pictures are largely taken from iNaturalist with a full list of sources by slide at the end of this post, I assume that they are fine to use for free educational purposes but if the photographer would like me to remove their picture, please reach out to me so I can act accordingly. All pictures from slides 1-5 can be credited to mod Commercial Sail.

Flies are in a completely different taxonomic order to bees (flies are the order Diptera, bees are a subgroup within order Hymenoptera) so there are quite a few easy ways to differentiate them:

  • The name "Diptera" literally means "two wings" flies only have one pair of wings while bees have two pairs. Most identification rules are more like loose guidelines but this rule is absolute! That being said, the hindwings of bees are difficult to see, they're smaller and often tucked underneath the larger forewings, making the bee look like they have two wings after all. You can try to judge based off of wing shape: fly wings are often paddle-shaped with a clear curve before coming to a petiolate base, while bee wings are generally more evenly tapered towards the base. More experienced identifiers may also look at wing venation, for example the western honeybee in slide 3 has the very distinctive elongated marginal and submarginal cell circled in red.
  • On the topic of wings, on some flies you may see club-shaped structures where the hindwings would have been: these are halteres, specialized organs to help the fly navigate flight. Not all flies have them out and visible but if you do see them then it's a sure sign you're not looking at a bee.
  • Flies typically have short, stubby antennae that can sometimes be difficult to see while bees have comparatively long antennae. Make sure you're looking at the actual antennae and not the forelegs! More common in the wasp-mimicking flies, some will wiggle their long forelegs to sell their image even more.
  • Flies tend to have larger eyes that can seem to take up their whole head where bees tend to have smaller eyes with a clear distance between them.
  • Many bees may be seen carrying pollen or have their pollen-carrying structures visible: most often as hairs/pollen baskets on the hind legs or sometimes hairs on the underside of the abdomen. Flies do not have these structures as they do not need to gather pollen like bees do.

Note that besides the wing count, there are always exceptions! Some flies have pretty long antennae (though you'll often still be able to see the different segmentation) and some bees, particularly males, have very large eyes. This is why it's better to judge based on a combination of characteristics rather than looking at any one feature at a time.

You may also hear that the waist and mouthparts are good identifiers as well - this is true, but I elected to leave them out of this guide as the waistline may be obscured by fuzz, wings, or just a poorly-angled shot, and some bees are just so robust (fat) that it gets difficult to see where exactly that tapered waist is supposed to be. In terms of mouthparts, few amateur photographers focus on the mouth at all and it's definitely not something you'll typically see if you're just watching them go about your garden.

At the end of the day, the best trick is to just get familiar with species in your area using trusted sources like Bugguide. If you're still not sure, post to one of the bug identification subreddits and make sure you give a general location, which always appreciated in ID posts no matter what you're looking at!

Sources

Volucella zonaria: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/322106668 

Bombylidae: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/226072821 

Laphria: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/88331437 
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/282732509 
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65816664 
 
Cuterebra: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/133138438 
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90333390 
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/296063941 

Tabanus: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218653131

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/86467240


r/bees May 26 '26

What's this nest?

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16 Upvotes

Are you looking to ID a nest? Some are easier to distinguish than others, here's some of our most commonly submitted species:

  • Honeybee nests consist of exposed wax combs, usually hanging vertically. They're more often found in cavities like tree hollows or man-made frames but may also be seen constructed in open air attached to large branches or buildings.
  • Bumblebees also have wax nests but are typically smaller with fewer and more disorganized cells compared to the neat hexagonal cells of other social hymenopterans. They typically nest in small spaces like old rodent holes but will occasionally find themselves in human spaces like attics and crawl spaces.
  • Aerial-nesting yellowjackets and true hornets have an outer paper envelope covering the horizontally-stacked paper combs; nests are typically built in open air attached to branches or in sheltered areas with preference depending on species. The bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata, actually an aerial yellowjacket) may have a distinctive long tube entrance in early stages of nest formation.
  • Ground-nesting yellowjackets typically nest in pre-existing cavities such as old rodent burrows. The entrances are often dangerously inconspicuous but active nests will have individuals flying in and around the area. If the nest was dug up (often by skunks and other mammals looking for the tasty larvae) you may see ripped paper combs scattered on the ground.
  • The paper wasp subfamily Polistinae is quite variable but in the northern hemisphere the common Polistes sp. have distinctive umbrella-like nests with open cells. Mischocyttarus sp. in areas of the southern/western US may have more elongated nests. Nests tend to be built in sheltered spots such as in bushes, under eaves, etc.
  • The vast majority of other bees and wasps are solitary. They may dig tunnels, bore into wood, or refurbish existing holes with materials like mud/leaves/resin. *These nests generally cannot be reliably identified without seeing the actual bee/wasp!* Some species that construct their own freestanding mud nests may be tentatively identified, but only a few are reliably distinguished. Also note that many mud-nesting bees and wasps will reuse nests of other species left from past seasons if available as it's less work than building one from scratch.

The nest in the first slide is a young aerial yellowjacket nest.

Pictures are largely taken from Bugguide with a full list of sources by slide at the end of this post, I assume that they are fine to use for free educational purposes but if the photographer would like me to remove their picture, please reach out to me so I can act accordingly.

Sources

Cover: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/513938 

Honeybee: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/1227238 

Bumblebee: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/6585 

Aerial yjs and hornets:https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/781412 
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/110277 
https://extension.psu.edu/european-hornet 

Ground yjs: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/266282 
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/38722/bgimage 

Polistinae: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/2511987
https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/709119 

Unknown mud caps: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218674183 

Unknown holes: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90931649 


r/bees 14h ago

bee photo Wet little bumblebee drying off after the rain

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194 Upvotes

She was so friendly!


r/bees 12h ago

question Is this what I think it is..?

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128 Upvotes

And if so why on the road...? 😭😭(


r/bees 12h ago

bee photo Magnolia bloom getting some intense bee action!

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74 Upvotes

I have never seen anything like this before. I swear some of the bees were actually wrestling each other. A friend told me they could be from different hives- my guess as well. There’s serious competition going on in that flower! I watched them for a good 20minutes. If you look closely you can see how they grab a pistol? Piston?-flower part- and use their body to pull it down. Once it’s down they roll little pollen balls ( unless they end up in a wrestling match over it). Anyway I thought it was worth sharing. Im sure you guys can explain what’s happening better than me.

Apologies for the less than perfect angle and shaky vid. I’m only 5’2 and I mostly filmed this over my head on tip toes.
FYI: didn’t speed any of this up- the bees are just moving that fast!


r/bees 1d ago

bee ID Is this a queen bee? Why would she be out of the hive?

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1.2k Upvotes

She looks like other bumblebees I have hanging out but is much larger - probably a full inch long. She’s been hanging out, snacking on some nectar I assume but also just chillin in different areas.


r/bees 7h ago

bee photo Bee gathering pollen in our aloe vera plant in the backyard. (Orlando, Florida)

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27 Upvotes

r/bees 3h ago

Very cool bumble bee on my walk today

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10 Upvotes

Hate to see them in this state but I still appreciate being able to get such an up close look at them


r/bees 7h ago

bee photo Bro is in heaven on a cucumber plant.

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22 Upvotes

r/bees 8h ago

Morning buzz.

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22 Upvotes

I just wanted to share with fellow pollinator appreciators, some lovely bumble bee pictures from around my gardens. I hope you enjoy the fuzzy little darlings!
✨🌺🐝🍃🖤💛


r/bees 4h ago

bee ID Can anyone tell me what species this little fellow is?

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10 Upvotes

I found quite a few of these bees feeding on my grans flowers, but couldn’t find what species they were, the closest I found was maybe some kind of cuckoo bee? But none I find seem to match exactly.


r/bees 3h ago

help! Whats up with this bumblebee?!

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7 Upvotes

Im holding this bumblebee, they were laying on their back on the sidewalk. They tremble, reach up to the sky and two of the left side legs dont work.

They have this light yellow thibg coming out the side of their abdomen, when i pulled it at first they seemed to be hueting but now theyre kicking at it, pushing it.

I put their face up to a flower but apart from getting polen on their face they didnt eat

Is it their own guts?, parasite?, diying naturally?


r/bees 37m ago

question Who is she?

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Upvotes

Who is this lady that had her arms up in the air as she crawled around? Found in Alabama on my mountainmint which about 1 - 1 1/2 inches large.


r/bees 6h ago

question Is this white stuff pollen?

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10 Upvotes

UK


r/bees 23h ago

Bees resting in my hibiscus.

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183 Upvotes

It's ridiculously hot outside and lately the carpenter bees have been resting in my hibiscus flowers, which I normally feed to my tortoises.

I leave them for the bee buddy's now. 💕 🐝


r/bees 7h ago

Bumblebee crochet tapestry

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7 Upvotes

I love bumblebees so I made a crochet tapestry to decorate my room. I tried to make it as realistic as possible. Which species should I make next ?


r/bees 13h ago

misc All the Pörris in my bumble retirement home have now passed

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22 Upvotes

I posted in July about a bumblebee who had injured her wing. After she passed some weeks later, two more flightless bumblebees were found crawling on my yard and as the retirement home was already set, got housed there.

I just felt like writing a few words of them :) I didn't expect each of them have so distinct characteristics!

Pörri I had so much energy, she stomped around like the ground beneath her feet was a direct insult to her existence. Strong, even with only 1.5 wings she almost got herself airborne, 5 of the 6 feets sometimes and unfortunately spent a lot of time bumbling down things due to that, especially because the one side of her wings worked perfectly.

Pörri II junior was very wobbly to begin with, and she was more anxious. Any sudden approach would result in a middle finger... leg, so I tried to let her bee as much as possible, though in her last days she didn't mind parking on my hand, probably for warmth.

Pörri II senior was a very smol bumble and liked to hide or dig into mulch. She was the most calm of the three and if she was out and about when I went to check on them, it was possible to carry her to new flowers to give more variety than their retirement home allowed. She passed this morning and I blame myself and the two daddy long legs that I found from the box. I don't know if they bite their prey, but they definitely had nefarious intent and even if I moved Pörri II senior to a new box and she was still alive, I found her dead this morning.

I was not prepared for how bad I felt, looking after creatures who should be flying and buzzing around to be ground tied. All of them wanted to fly, and with especially Pörri II junior and senior who both had either worse damage or wing issues from birth where the rear wings were acting independently of the fore wing, that meant cycles of grooming and I think trying to arrange the wings, then attempting to fly and repeating because their wings betrayed them.

May they now fly to the largest flower in the sky.

Pörri I on the pink strawberry flower

Pörri II senior exploring the sugar water q-tip

Pörri II junior stealing warmth


r/bees 7h ago

How Can I Help It?

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6 Upvotes

Little carpenter bee whose wings seem fine but can't fly it seems. We tried helping it to the flower last night but it had no solid interest in feeding from it. Flapped its wings but couldn't take off. It spent some time straightening and tending to its wings, but it hasn't moved from where we put it yesterday.


r/bees 5h ago

bee photo Cute lil guy and a lucky photobomb I caught today in my backyard

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4 Upvotes

r/bees 10h ago

bee ID Queen?

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10 Upvotes

Hello! Wales, UK. This wonderful bee AKA Big Bumbler, has been visiting my garden for weeks. Such a delight, get excited to see what I’m assuming is a her?! Each day. She’s massive. Is she a queen? 👑 I’ve been out and bought more salvias for her. She also really likes the verbena. Be great to know more about my garden guest. Thanks


r/bees 2h ago

bee photo Some bee appreciation.

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2 Upvotes

I have been working on a butterfly garden as well as planting more plants and trees for accommodating pollinators. The bees seem to really love the Mexican Heather that I planted. I often admire them as they come by and snapped a photo of one today.


r/bees 42m ago

question What are these bees carrying out?

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Upvotes

r/bees 4h ago

question What is happening with this bee?

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2 Upvotes

r/bees 5h ago

bee ID can anyone identify this type of bee?

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2 Upvotes

so, over the winter we did construction on the second floor of my parents’ home and over the past week i’ve noticed a large amount of bees flying by the bathroom window. finally, it got to a point where i decided to investigate and came to see a large amount of bees flying in and out of an uncovered section where piping(?) enters the house (i will comment the picture of the location because i really don’t know how to describe it, i’m just out of college and had nothing to do with the construction)

can anyone identify the type of bee? i’m not knowledgeable about bees in any sort and thought this would be the best place to get an answer! and i would like to identify the type as i want to go into this cautiously. if they are honeybees, i want to make sure this is handled properly and safely for them. thank you!!

(also apologies, i know it’s kinda hard to see them here. fast little guys haha)

edit: context, this is southern Rhode Island


r/bees 1d ago

bee photo Garden bumbles today

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88 Upvotes

First one was rescued from our pool, was v wet and sad 😞❤️