Bees

Look-alikes EOL Observer Cards
Observing a few key characters will help you distinguish
a bee from a closely related wasp or a bee-mimicking
fly. Wasps are less hairy than most bees, often have more
obvious “waists,” and generally have brighter color
patterns. Some flies look like bees, but they have only
two wings (versus four for bees and wasps). Most flies
have larger eyes that meet nearly on top of their head,
and shorter, thinner antennae.
Supplemental Notes
Although most wasps and flies do not gather pollen as a protein source,
many visit flowers for nectar. Bee-mimicking flies include flower flies which
hover like helicopters, bee flies, and robber flies. Cuckoo bees (true bees)
can be difficult to tell from wasps because they do not transport pollen
and so tend to have little hair. They are also often brightly-colored.
Images: 1. A crabronid wasp (Cerceris sp.), © Tom Murray; 2. A robber fly (Laphria
sp.) preying on a honey bee, © Lisa Brown via Flickr; 3. Eristalis tenax, a hover fly often
mistaken for a honey bee, © Gilles Gonthier via Flickr; 4. A hover fly (Syrphus torvus),
© Tom Murray; 5. A bee fly (Villa sp.), © Tom Murray; 6. Moths can mimic bees too!
Hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe), © Ken Slade via Flickr.
Author: Jessica Rykken, PhD. Editor: Jeff Holmes, PhD. More information at: eol.org
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