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Understanding bees
Bees are beneficial for our environment. They pollinate many crops that humans consume daily and help our ecosystem flourish. However, having bees on your property can be a nuisance and can pose potential health risks if you or a family member is allergic to bees. Knowing the different bee species and understanding their behaviors is critical in developing a proper bee control strategy.
Whether you're dealing with a swarm or a hidden nest, our bee guide below will teach you how to identify different species, the behaviors to watch for, and why bees play a crucial role in maintaining our ecosystem.
Bee control and removal
Protect yourself from bees
What does a bee look like?
There are many types of bees, but most share a few key features that make them easier to identify. Having the right bee information can help you tell them apart from other flying insects, like wasps or flies.
- Size: Typically ranges from 0.8” - 1.5”
- Color: Black or brown with golden yellow stripes, though some may appear more orange or fuzzy depending on the type
- Body: Oval-shaped and covered in fine hairs, which help them collect pollen.
Unlike wasps, bees often look rounder and less shiny.
Key information about bees
Though some characteristics and habits of bees vary from species to species, like pollination, the following bee information is consistent across all species.
Colony
Every bee colony contains a queen bee and worker bees, and sometimes drone bees. Bees are classified as either solitary or social. Solitary bees live in small colonies and are very independent. They prefer to fly alone and have just enough resources for themselves. Social bees, on the other hand, form large colonies, and their hives contain many bees.
Lifecycle
The bee development process can vary between bee species and each species develops at a different pace. However, all bees go through three stages before becoming an adult. Every bee begins as an egg. After an egg hatches, it turns into larvae, then pupae, then into an adult.
Pollination
Most of the fruit crops that we eat require pollination from bees for growth. When a bee lands on a flower, it transfers pollen from the male parts of a flower to the female parts of the flower, resulting in the plant's fertilization.
Types of bees on the West Coast
There are over 20,000 bee species in the world. Below are the most common bee species that homeowners come in contact with in the Western United States.
Africanized honey bees
These bees are an aggressive hybrid bee species that attack anything that threatens them.
Bumble bees
Bumble bees are one of the smaller bee species. They have little interest in stinging people unless they feel threatened.
Carpenter bees are the least aggressive when it comes to stinging, but they can cause the most damage to your home.
Honey bees are the most common bee species. They are essential to the environment and help our ecosystem flourish.
Why are bees important to the ecosystem?
Bees do more than just make honey. They play a key role in pollination, helping plants grow and reproduce. Pollination is the main reason bees are so important to our ecosystem, and as bees move from flower to flower, they carry this pollen, which allows fruits, vegetables, and seeds to form.
This process isn’t just important for crops; it supports wild plants, which provide food and shelter for birds, insects, and other animals. Pollination is extremely valuable to crop growth, quality, and quantity. Without bees, many of the crops in this world would not flourish and we would miss out on nutritious foods like apples, berries, and broccoli.
That’s why bees matter—and why it’s worth understanding how to manage them properly, especially when they show up where they shouldn’t.
Are bees endangered?
Climate change and various human activities are causing some bee species to become endangered. Harsh winters, rising temperatures, floods, and droughts all affect bees’ ecosystems, slowly destroying their habitats and resources. As more land is developed and green spaces disappear, bees lose the plants they rely on for food and shelter. Chemical use in farming and gardening can also affect their ability to survive and reproduce.
While not every species is at risk, the overall drop in bee populations is something scientists and conservation groups are watching closely. Fewer bees means less pollination, which can lead to fewer flowers, weaker crops, and long-term changes to the food chain.
It’s important to strike a balance: protecting bees and their role in nature, while also managing the risks that can come with nests near homes or businesses. Knowing when and how to act can help keep both people and these crucial pollinators safe. If you’re unsure what to do, our bee technicians are here to help assess the situation and guide you through your next steps.
Frequently asked questions
Do all bees sting?
No. Many bee species have stingers and will sting if they feel threatened, but not all bees sting.
How do bees make honey?
Before nectar becomes honey, it enters a bee's stomach. Glucose oxidase, an enzyme in a bee’s stomach, breaks down the nectar and helps produce the honey.
The honeybee regurgitates the nectar from the stomach and passes it mouth–to–mouth between the hive's bees to reduce its moisture content. Each bee will chew on the nectar for about 30 minutes.
When the nectar's moisture content has been reduced from around 70% to about 20%, it has reached the state that it becomes the honey we consume. The honey is stored in cells within the hive and covered with a wax seal.
What’s the difference between bees and wasps?
The main difference between bees and wasps is their body shape and characteristics. Bees have hair on their bodies and flat legs whereas wasps have smooth bodies and narrow legs.
Do all bees pollinate?
All bees pollinate, but not all bee species pollinate the food that we eat. Research has shown that 80% of pollination is done by commercial honeybees while the remaining is done by various wild bee species. The list of pollinators includes hummingbirds, flies, moths, wasps, beetles, bats, and butterflies among many others
What is the lifespan of a bee?
It depends on the type of bee. Worker bees live a few weeks to a few months, while queen bees can live for several years.
What does it mean if I see a bee swarm?
A swarm usually means a colony is moving to start a new hive. While it might look alarming, swarming bees are focused on finding a new home and are usually not aggressive.
Read more about bees
It's important to have the proper information about bees before taking action. Read some of our blog posts for additional bee facts and localized bee information, along with other tips on how to identify different kinds of bees.