Types of Bees
A few summers ago I planted lavender along my fence. By July it was loud. Not with one kind of bee, with a dozen. Fat bumblebees, slim dark ones, and a tiny metallic green bee I had never noticed before.
I had always thought bee meant honey bee. Standing in that lavender, I knew I was wrong.
There are about 20,000 types of bees in the world. Honey bees are only a handful of them. Most bees make no honey at all. Most do not even live in hives. They dig in the ground, tunnel into wood, or nest alone inside a hollow stem.
Some are familiar, like the western honey bee and the bumblebee. Some are strange, like the vulture bee that eats dead meat instead of pollen.
Below you will find 21 common types of bees in one chart, sorted by how they live and what makes each one stand out. You will see which ones are social, which fly solo, and which sneak into other bees’ nests.
Table of Contents
Types of Bees (Identification Chart)
This chart sorts 21 common bees by how they live and what sets each one apart. Scientific names are in italics. Use it as a quick reference, then read on for the groups that matter most.
| Bee Type | Scientific Group | Social Behavior | Main Habitat | Special Traits |
| Western Honey Bee | Apis mellifera | Social | Worldwide | Honey production, large colonies |
| Eastern Honey Bee | Apis cerana | Social | Asia | Smaller Asian honey bee |
| Giant Honey Bee | Apis dorsata | Social | South & SE Asia | Builds huge exposed combs |
| Dwarf Honey Bee | Apis florea | Social | Asia | Tiny open-air nests |
| Bumblebee | Bombus species | Social | Temperate regions | Buzz pollination |
| Carpenter Bee | Xylocopa species | Solitary | Wooded areas | Tunnels into wood |
| Small Carpenter Bee | Ceratina species | Solitary | Gardens, stems | Metallic dark body |
| Mason Bee | Osmia species | Solitary | Gardens, holes | Uses mud partitions |
| Leafcutter Bee | Megachile species | Solitary | Gardens, forests | Cuts neat leaf circles |
| Mining Bee | Andrena species | Solitary | Ground burrows | Early spring pollinator |
| Sweat Bee | Halictidae family | Mixed | Worldwide | Drawn to perspiration |
| Orchid Bee | Euglossini tribe | Mostly solitary | Tropical forests | Metallic colors |
| Stingless Bee | Meliponini tribe | Social | Tropics | Tiny bees with weak stings |
| Blue-banded Bee | Amegilla species | Solitary | Australia, Asia | Bright blue stripes |
| Long-horned Bee | Eucera species | Solitary | Meadows | Males have very long antennae |
| Wool Carder Bee | Anthidium manicatum | Solitary | Gardens | Collects fuzzy plant fibers |
| Squash Bee | Peponapis species | Solitary | Farms, gardens | Specializes in squash plants |
| Alkali Bee | Nomia melanderi | Solitary | Alkaline soils | Key alfalfa pollinator |
| Resin Bee | Megachilidae family | Solitary | Wood cavities | Uses plant resin in nests |
| Cuckoo Bee | Various genera | Parasitic | Near host nests | Lays eggs in other bees’ nests |
| Vulture Bee | Trigona hypogea | Social | Central & S. America | Feeds on carrion, not pollen |
One thing stands out fast. Only a few of these bees are social. The rest live alone. That flips the usual picture of bees as hive insects.
How Bees Live: Social, Solitary, or Parasitic
Bees fall into three broad lifestyles. The honey bee gets the spotlight, but it is the exception, not the rule. About 9 in 10 bee species are solitary.
| Lifestyle | What It Means | Examples |
| Social | Live together in a colony with a queen and workers | Honey bees, bumblebees, stingless bees |
| Solitary | Each female builds and stocks her own nest alone | Mason, leafcutter, mining bees |
| Parasitic | Lay eggs in another bee’s nest and let it raise the young | Cuckoo bees |
Solitary bees are gentle and rarely sting. They have no hive to defend, so they tend to leave people alone. They are also strong pollinators, often better than honey bees plant for plant.
Honey Bees: The Four Apis Species
Honey bees belong to the genus Apis. The western honey bee, Apis mellifera, is the one kept in hives across the world. It makes the honey on your toast and pollinates a huge share of farm crops.
Asia has three more. The eastern honey bee, Apis cerana, is smaller and also kept by beekeepers. The giant honey bee, Apis dorsata, builds large open combs high in trees. The dwarf honey bee, Apis florea, is the smallest and nests in the open on a single comb.
Bumblebees and Other Social Bees
Bumblebees, genus Bombus, live in small colonies and are built for cool weather. They use buzz pollination, shaking their bodies to shake pollen loose. Tomatoes and blueberries depend on this trick.
Stingless bees, the tribe Meliponini, are tropical social bees with tiny, harmless stings. People keep some of them for honey. The vulture bee is one strange branch of this group. Instead of pollen, it feeds on carrion, a habit confirmed in a 2021 study on its gut microbes.
Solitary Bees You Might See
Most garden bees are solitary. Mason bees, genus Osmia, seal their nests with mud and are prized as orchard pollinators. Leafcutter bees, genus Megachile, snip neat circles from leaves to line their nests.
Carpenter bees, genus Xylocopa, bore tunnels into wood, while the smaller Ceratina nests in plant stems. Mining bees, genus Andrena, dig in the soil and appear early in spring. Sweat bees, family Halictidae, are the small ones drawn to perspiration on a hot day. Resin bees seal their nests with plant resin instead of mud.
Specialist and Unusual Bees
Some bees have one job. The squash bee, genus Peponapis, works only squash and pumpkin flowers and is up before dawn. The alkali bee, Nomia melanderi, nests in salty soil and is managed by farmers to pollinate alfalfa.
Others stand out by looks or habit. The blue-banded bee wears bright blue stripes. The long-horned bee has males with very long antennae. The wool carder bee scrapes fuzzy fibers off plants to build its nest. Orchid bees flash metallic green and blue in tropical forests. The cuckoo bee skips nest building entirely and lays its eggs in another bee’s burrow.
Why Bees Matter
Bees pollinate a large share of the food we eat. Fruits and nuts depend on them, and so do many vegetables. Wild solitary bees do much of this quiet work, not just managed honey bees.
Many bees are in decline from habitat loss and pesticides, along with disease. Planting native flowers and skipping sprays helps. The Xerces Society has practical guides, and you can match local sightings against our bee identification chart.
FAQs
How many types of bees are there?
About 20,000 species worldwide. They are grouped into seven families. Only a small fraction make honey.
What is the most common bee?
The western honey bee is the most widespread because people keep it everywhere. In the wild, though, solitary bees like mining and sweat bees are far more numerous.
Which bees do not sting?
Male bees of every species cannot sting. Stingless bees have only tiny, weak stings. Most solitary bees rarely sting at all, since they have no hive to defend.
Are all bees social like honey bees?
No. Roughly 9 in 10 bee species are solitary. Each female builds her own nest and raises her young alone.
Do bees really eat meat?
A few do. Three vulture bee species in the genus Trigona feed on carrion instead of pollen. They are the only bees known to do this.
How can I help bees in my garden?
Plant native flowers, leave some bare soil and hollow stems for nests, and avoid pesticides. For more ideas, see our beneficial insects chart and the wider Animals Chart collection.
