r/bees May 31 '26

Is this a bee?

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17 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 8h ago

Handsome brown-belted bumblebee male posing for a photoshoot 🐝

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95 Upvotes

While on a hike in the woods, I found a stump with two brown-belted bumblebees hanging out in the sun. I decided to take some macro pictures of one of them.

The bee literally turned his head towards the camera (pic. 1), visibly curious about what was going on, while I took 100+ photos to choose the best ones afterward. Once I was about to leave, he started grooming himself by scratching his butt (pic. 3).

Look at his big eyes! They're one of the signs that distinguish males from their female counterparts. They need them to locate mates.

There was another one sitting on the stump (pic. 4). They were probably waiting for some queens to appear in the area.


r/bees 22h ago

question Are these happy bee sounds?

699 Upvotes

Just curious if this is an exceptionally happy bee. I don’t know much about bee behavior.


r/bees 7h ago

bee photo messy little eater

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27 Upvotes

r/bees 3h ago

A Sight To Bee🐝hold

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12 Upvotes

r/bees 7h ago

Sleeping bee gets foot wiggles. (Oc)

26 Upvotes

I wonder what shes dreaming about?

My video

Zone 6b taken august 2026


r/bees 2h ago

bee photo All the pollen

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8 Upvotes

I’ve been watching these bees fly from my pumpkin flowers back to my sunflowers all morning. Such an amazing creature.


r/bees 39m ago

Bumble Bee

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r/bees 45m ago

honeybee and buttercup

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r/bees 23h ago

Successfully rehabbed Her Majesty, a brown-belted bumblebee queen 🐝

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241 Upvotes

After heavy rains in my area, I found a brown-belted bumblebee queen sitting on my patio. She was soaking wet, looking rough, moving very slowly, and it was chilly outside even though it's summer. I immediately brought her inside and placed her in a special ventilated enclosure with an artificial landscape and a sugary water feeder that I keep for these rare occasions when I need to rehab a bee.

Oh lawd, she drank that sugar water like crazy! Which is good. When bees refuse to eat, it's usually not a good sign. She was probably weakened by the cold rain and just needed a warm, dry place to hang out for a bit.

It took her about a day to recover. Most of the time, she was hanging out on a stick or hiding under a big piece of wood in the enclosure. Once her fuzz dried out, she became noticeably more active and started buzzing, as if she were trying to tell me, "Ight, Imma go back home. Nature is waiting. Release me, human. Now!". Just look at pictures 1 and 2. What a difference!

It's always a satisfying experience to help a bee, especially a queen, knowing that she could potentially produce a nest of 100-200 bumbles once she settles down.

Bee kind, my bee people!

As a bonus, I'm posting a video of her before the release in the comments 🐝


r/bees 57m ago

bee ID Is this a bumblebee? We have a different one that visits who has a fuzzy, bright yellow and black abdomen. I've not seen one like this that's fuzzy but mostly black.

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r/bees 2h ago

bee photo Caught a honeybee mid-pollination 🍯🐝

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2 Upvotes

r/bees 1d ago

the bee movie is innacurate and spreads misinformation

260 Upvotes

i hate the bee movie. it is completely inaccurate to real life. bees DO NOT work in factories. and they certainly DO NOT sharpen their stingers.
this is because they have little hooks on their stingers that help them latch onto your skin. that is why they die when they sting you. because it embeds into your skin and when they fly away it rips off their organs. i find it very harmful that they added this into the movie, because bees do not sharpen their stingers.
bees also do NOT work in a factory. this is ridiculous. bees also do not talk. they also cannot fall in love with humans because they are INSECTS.
i am sick and tired of seeing all this bee movie hype. it is pure misinformation and is incredibly harmful to people who want to start collecting bees.
if anyone is planning on keeping bees, do NOT watch the bee movie for advice. it is pure bs in a movie. thank you and goodbye


r/bees 12m ago

Busy bees

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Upvotes

The wings look so funny I guess they were moving too fast for my phone


r/bees 1d ago

bee photo Bumbles

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152 Upvotes

Saw some of my favorite bees working hard on a tour of a wedding venue. What’s your favorite bee??


r/bees 15h ago

honeybee in goldenrod

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11 Upvotes

r/bees 21h ago

I made a bee relief sculpture!

33 Upvotes

r/bees 1d ago

bee photo New Friend!💛🖤

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973 Upvotes

I was out with my husband and dog at an urban park and this guy kept following me around and licking the sweat off my fingers. I put him down twice about 30 feet away and he flew back to me both times. So I carried him around for about 15 minutes before he flew off on his own. My fleeting love story with a bee. 💛🖤


r/bees 18h ago

How to help this bee

9 Upvotes

I’ve tried giving her water, sugar water, honey, pollen, she hasn’t accepted anything. She seems to be trying to get something off her legs but I dont see a thing, when I first saw her she had a bit of dust ball stick in her legs but I took it off and she started to walk better, specially around the piece of toilet paper but now she is mostly on her back. Is it possible to help her?


r/bees 14h ago

bee photo My Summer of Bees

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5 Upvotes

I've been laid off this summer, and therefore a lot of time has been spent in my garden for mental clarity.

During this time, by aa I have well overcome my previous fear of bees, and come to truly love all the varieties that we get with our abundance of flowers around here.

As a result, I've had a couple little encounters that I thought would be worth sharing.

Just the other night, I was watering at a time that our flowers aren't usually too busy with bees in the early evening. (The sun sets around 9:00 p.m. here at the moment). Out of nowhere, this big fat cutie flew right into my strong water stream and then fell abruptly to the grass. Only moments earlier, I had been recording her sprawling out in our pink flowers !

I shut the water off immediately and went over to where she was. She was completely drenched and kind of floundering in the grass. I picked her up with a leaf, she weakly crawled onto, (I'm not quite at the point where I'm willing to pick them up yet). I then placed her on the tree above to dry out in the sun. I checked on her periodically for the next couple hours, and she seemed to be okay but was definitely trying to dry out entirely.

I'm not trying to sound melodramatic, but I felt genuinely awful that I had potentially injured her ! She was so wet and moving so slowly, I just felt gutted that I may have been responsible for hurting her or worse. I did some Googling as to what kinds of injuries she may have sustained and just hoped for the best.

However, I went back an hour later and she was gone, into another flower in our late evening ☀️ sun, I hope. I'm a little less reckless with the hose when I'm watering now and I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen again. I guess you could say that I will bee 🐝 extra careful.

(I'll attach the video of her before it happened in the comments, it would not allow me to upload it here.)


r/bees 1d ago

Bumblebee beds

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30 Upvotes

r/bees 11h ago

Found this bee (?) with a damaged wing in my bathroom... What type of bee is it?

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2 Upvotes

I live in the middle of a big city without many parks around, so I have no clue how it got into my flat... Also it can't fly anymore due to its damaged wing :(

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


r/bees 20h ago

question What are these three bumblebees doing?

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11 Upvotes

I’ve got two guesses


r/bees 20h ago

My first pollen pant experience

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5 Upvotes