Mining Bees
One of the largest groups of solitary bees, it is believed to consist of over 1,300 known species.
Mining bees are important pollinators. The adults eat nectar (many are picky consumers of just
a few plants) and they provide both nectar and pollen for their larvae. They are “buzz pollinators”
that set up a vibration which causes a flower to release its pollen. Apples and other fruit trees,
several species of orchids, and blueberry/huckleberry are among the plants they favor.
Events of the past few years have demonstrated the downside of relying on a single pollinator, the
Honey Bee, for the majority our food crops as they are experiencing population declines from disease.
| Carpenter Bee |
| Habitat: |
Woodland, gardens and orchards |
| Development: |
Complete metamorphosis |
| Food: |
Herbivore |
| Flight Period: |
All summer |
| Description: |
Yellow, orange or white on thorax.
Black abdomens without any colored hairs.
|
| Length: |
10-15mm |
Like another spring bee, the bumblebee, mining bees have densely hairy legs, head and thorax, a
defense against cold. Along with the fuzzy upholstery (her hairy body also comes in handy for
collecting pollen), standard equipment includes pollen baskets/combs on the hind tarsi (back legs),
smoky wings, a large head with a short, pointy tongue, and chewing-lapping mouthparts that are
perfect for collecting pollen and nectar.
The modus operandi of female mining bees is to excavate a vertical tunnel a few inches deep in
dry/well-drained ground, either level or sloped (they like road and ditch-cuts). The entrance is the
diameter of a #2 pencil or slightly larger, and there’s often a tell-tale dirt pile at the hole’s entrance.
Although solitary, mining bees will tolerate the nearby tunnels of other bees that want to excavate
in favorable soil, but a group of tunnels is not a colony in the true sense of the word. Each tunnel
has a number of side branches that end in chambers. She waterproofs the chambers using a material
she produces from a gland in her abdomen. The pollen and nectar she collects is divided among
the chambers and is rolled into balls within each chamber.
When Mom is satisfied that a chamber
is adequately provisioned, she lays an egg on the food pile and the chamber is sealed. The larvae
stay inside the chamber after hatching. They eat and pupate there, transforming into adults by fall,
but not emerging from their tunnels until spring. They live for about a month after emerging.
Female mining bees are not aggressive. You have to work pretty hard to get stung by one (it can
be done, if you step on or grab one), and males can’t sting at all. Sometimes when grass develops b
are patches, mining bee nesting activity is blamed; in fact, the area was already bare and that’s why
the mining bees picked it. The presence of mining bees hovering just above the ground in communal
nesting areas or in large mating displays can be unnerving to some people (if you are one of those
people, control can be achieved non-chemically simply by watering the lawn). At any rate, conspicuous
displaying and foraging activity decrease after the eggs are laid.
Although solitary, females do sometimes construct nests close to each other, and may be
re-occupied year after year if undisturbed.
The bee's basic nutritional requirements are similar to those of humans; they need proteins, carbohydrates,
minerals, fats/lipids, vitamins, and water. Learn More!
Take this quick quiz and see how much you know about Bumble Bees—our favorite essential pollinators
working around the world. This quiz is intended for fun, in a random-facts-can-be-cool kind of way.
Wild bees need our help. Many populations are declining due to habitat loss, disease and pesticide poisoning.
Each of us can create habitat to support local bee populations.