Bees, an incredibly diverse group of insects, encompass over 20,000 known species worldwide. While many people associate bees with large, communal honeycombs, this image represents only a small fraction of bee life. Bees inhabit an array of living spaces, reflecting their varied behaviors and needs. These homes range from complex social structures to individual nests crafted by single bees.
Homes of Social Bees
Social bees, such as honey bees and bumble bees, live in organized colonies with distinct roles for their members. Honey bees, for instance, construct hives either in natural cavities like hollow trees and rock crevices, or within human-made beehives. Inside these structures, they build hexagonal wax combs, which are used to raise young bees and to store resources such as honey and pollen. A domesticated honey bee colony can grow quite large, sometimes containing up to 60,000 individuals.
Bumble bees, though also social, establish smaller colonies, typically around 250 individuals. They often nest underground, utilizing abandoned rodent burrows. These fuzzy insects also find homes in dense clumps of grass or mossy vegetation, and occasionally in other sheltered spaces like bird boxes or wall cavities. Unlike honey bees, bumble bee queens start new nests each spring, and the colony usually lasts for a single season.
Homes of Solitary Bees
The vast majority of bee species, over 90 percent, are solitary and do not live in colonies. Each female solitary bee builds and provisions her own nest. These independent nesters fall into two main categories: ground-nesting bees and cavity-nesting bees.
About 70 percent of solitary bee species are ground-nesters, excavating tunnels in the soil. They often favor patches of bare or sparsely vegetated ground with good drainage and southern exposure for their nests. Examples include mining bees, polyester bees, and sweat bees, which create individual tunnels that can vary in depth from a few inches to nearly 10 feet. The female bee constructs brood cells, each containing an egg and a provision of pollen and nectar for her offspring.
The remaining 30 percent of solitary bees are cavity-nesters. Instead, they repurpose existing tunnels and holes found in their environment. These bees utilize abandoned beetle burrows in dead wood, hollow plant stems, or natural crevices in rocks and masonry. Mason bees and leafcutter bees are common examples that also use human-made bee hotels. Each female bee partitions these existing spaces into individual cells, provisioning them for her young.
The Importance of Bee Habitats
Understanding the diverse living spaces of bees is important because these habitats support their ecological roles. Different bee species, each with unique nesting requirements, contribute to the pollination of a wide variety of plants. This includes many agricultural crops that provide our food, as well as wild flora for healthy ecosystems.
A varied landscape featuring different soil types, dead wood, hollow stems, and undisturbed areas provides nesting opportunities for a broader range of bee species. The presence of diverse bee populations, in turn, helps ensure the successful reproduction of plants and the overall stability of ecosystems. Protecting these varied habitats is a key step in supporting bee populations and the pollination services they provide.