Solitary Bees

Latin Name: various species

Months of Activity: March - May

There are over 200 species of solitary bees found in Britain and, like the social bees, they all feed on pollen and nectar. Important pollinators of many garden flowers and commercial crops, solitary bees collect pollen for provisioning the nest with food for their brood.

Each female solitary bee is fertile, and typically inhabits a nest she constructs herself. There are no worker bees, and neither honey nor beeswax are produced by these insects.

Appearance

Most solitary bees resemble small honey bees or, in some cases, small bumble bees, but the adults of most species are fairly short-lived and are seen for only a few weeks in spring or early summer.

Lifecycle

Solitary bees create nests in hollow reeds or twigs, holes in wood, or, most commonly, in tunnels in the ground. The female typically creates a compartment (or "cell") with an egg and some provisions for the resulting larva, then seals it off.

A nest may consist of numerous cells. The adult bee does not provide care for the brood once the egg is laid, and usually dies after making one or more nests. The males typically emerge first and are ready for mating when the females emerge.

While solitary female bees each make individual nests, some species are gregarious, preferring to make nests near others of the same species, giving the appearance to the casual observer that they are social.

Pest Control

Often mistaken for other varieties of bee, the solitary bee provides no real threat to homes and gardens in the UK. Harmless creatures, the solitary bee does not swarm and is either stingless or very unlikely to sting.

If you do have an incidence of a solitary bee taking up residence in your property, the ideal solution is to contact your local pest control company who can quickly and easily remove the problem.

Latest News about Solitary Bees

Dicing With Death
When pest controller Barrie Montgomery discovered he was allergic to wasps, there was no question he would be giving up the job he loves. 38-year-old Barrie Montgomery, who lives in Dundee and works all over Angus for Blairgowrie firm Graham Pest Co... [more]

Creating A Buzz
A pest control company has received buzzing praise for a new ecological initiative which encourages residents to take up beekeeping. The Suffolk Pest Control Company plans to relocate swarms of unwanted bees to newly constructed hives, which will be... [more]

Biological Insect Control Products
There are a number of products on the market that advertise they are biological insect controllers and are safe for the environment. It is important to understand how some of these products work, or don't work, as the case may be. Just because a prod... [more]

Queen Bees Contaminate Offspring
The first evidence that viruses can be transmitted vertically from mother queens to their offspring in honey bee colonies has been discovered by American scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). ARS entomologists Yanping Chen, Jeff P... [more]

Treating For Hornets
If you think that you have an infestation of hornets in your property, the first thing you need to do is to make sure they are infact hornets, as control methods differ for bees, wasps or hornets. Hornets are about a ½ inch to ¾ inches... [more]

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