No, not honey bees. The honey bee you may be thinking of is actually an invasive species from Europe. Native bees is a term used to refer generally to bees native to an area. Specifically, we are interested in the conservation of bees native to southern California. Some of the most common solitary bees in the area include: carpenter, mason, and leafcutter bees. Some of these bees can also be called solitary bees because they do not live in hives, but rather, small colonies.

• Over 1,600 native bee species have been identified in California alone. Read more here.

• There are about 30 native bumblebee species in California. Find out how to attract these bees in your own garden.

• Sweat bees are named so because they are attracted to human sweat! Pictures of the ultra-green sweat bee.

• There are 5,000 species of flowering plants in California, which definitely benefit from the conservation of our native bees. 

• Out of the 115 most commonly grown foods around the world, 87 crops use animal pollinators, including almonds, 80% which grow in California. Read more on native bees vs honey bees and their effects on California agriculture.

Here are some bee identification guides for other states!

• Arizona

• Missouri

• Montana

• Nevada

• Ohio

Unlike honey bees, solitary bees:

• may make their nests in the ground or small crevices, not in a hive, and as a result, are less aggressive​​

• do not have a single queen; because they do not live as a hive, each female is her own queen and lays her own eggs

• do not produce honey; they do not have an entire hive to care for, so large stores of food are not needed

• are more effective pollinators than the European honey bee because they do not need to gather pollen for an entire hive

• do not have to be transported from farm to farm as commercially rented honey bee hives are (often from out of state!)

Article: Native bees are a rich natural resource in urban California gardens​

​

Bee Hotels: Do they actually work? A guide to building one in your backyard.

Related article: ‘Bee Hotels’ as Tools for Native Pollinator Conservation: A Premature Verdict? Part of a study of 600 bee hotels in Toronto, Canada.

​

10 bees and 10 plants bees love by the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden

​

Common bee groups of California by the UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab

​

Interview with UC Berkeley professor Gordon Frankie, an expert on native bees.

​

A guide for identifying native bumblebees of the Western United States.

​

A guide for enhancing nest sites for native bee crop pollinators.

​

Xerxes society for invertebrate conservation publications library. Search for all kinds of readings and guides on bees and other pollinators.

​

Pollinator Partnership. An organization whose mission is to promote the health of pollinators, critical to food and ecosystems, through conservation, education, and research. Find out about their programs and other educational resources!

• Bee issues

• Educational resources​