There are slightly fewer than 20,000 species of bees. The number of species varies, considering that not all species have been discovered as of yet. Different species can be found in different places in the world. Bees live on 6 of the worlds 7 continents. Antarctica is the only continent that bee’s cannot survive on due to the extreme weather. The greatest amounts of bee species are found in the America Southwest and Mexico.

Out of all 20,000 species, there are 11 families that the Bee species can be categorized in. Scientists can tell the family apart by the veins in the wings, structure of the mouthparts, and other microscopic characteristics. There are other characteristics that the naked eye can distinguish the families, such as their hair, and the length of their tongues. Out of the 11 families, there are 3 main families that are here in Arizona.

Bumblebees

Bumblebees are black and yellow, large, and hairy. They are often mistaken for Carpenter Bees. The way you can tell the two apart is the bumblebee is hairy all over, and the Carpenter bee has a shinny abdomen. Bumblebees are eusocial, which means they work together and form a community. With bumblebees, they peak between 50-200 bees in a community during mid-summer. The queen bee is the main egg-layer, and her daughters are the workers. Bumblebees can only survive during the warm weather. The queen will hibernate alone to form a new colony the following spring.

The nest of the bumblebees is circular and only has one exit. The queen bee is the one who decides where the nest will be. She will pick an already existing area, such as an abandoned mouse nest. Most of the bumblebee species will nest in or near the ground. Toward the end of the summer the queen will lay eggs. The drones (males) will then mate with the female bees, who are the new queens, and then they die. The new queens will then fly off, find a place to hibernate and start the cycle all over. The hibernation usually takes place in a dry area, like loose tree bark. They will not create their new nest in the old one, but they sometimes nest very closely to it.

If you accidentally stumble upon a nest or even one bee, they can sting you if they feel at all threatened. Dogs usually are the ones who find the nest, and are usually the most common target of the angry bees aim. The dog’s facial area and the snout are the most commonly stung area. It is painful to the dog and causing large swelling at the point of contact. The swelling can look alarming mostly because there is very little fat or muscle on the face. Bumblebees do not die from the loss of the stinger, unlike other bees. If you find a nest, do not disturb it and leave the exterminating to a professional.

When bumblebees become a problem for your family or place of business, it is time for the removal of the nest. Using wrong pesticides or chemicals will not kill the nest, but make the bees angry and can cause stinging, sometimes multiple stings. If you treat the bees with an at home pesticide, it usually will not kill all the bees and again will cause stinging. Midday is usually when the bees are the most active. If the bees are in an area where there are tall weeds or grasses, DO NOT go over them with a lawn mower. That will make them enter attack mode. Even the sound of the mower or a heavy machine will agitate them. It is best to leave a nest alone and call a professional exterminating company, for the safety of your family and business.

For quality extermination of your bumblebee nest, call Premium Pest Control at (480) 755-7770. We are one of the very few companies in The Valley that can do same day appointments so that our customers can have peace of mind at the end of the day. We guarantee all our products and also will come do a FREE estimate on you pest problem

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees, which are widely mistaken for bumblebees, are large, blue and black metallic colored bees that nest mostly in flower stalks of wood. Roughly there are 730 species of carpenter bees. They live mostly in forest regions and the tropics, but have been known to sometimes inhabit a city. These kinds of bees can fly long and far distances, and will visit many types of flowers.

With carpenter bees, the females are dominant. When the queen carpenter bee is making her nest for her colony, you can hear her chewing through the wood from a couple of feet away. Small piles of sawdust near the entrance are signs that there is a nest near. Carpenter bees make tunnels through the wood and make room for their brood cells (areas for their offspring).The cells are separated by saliva and sawdust. Unlike bumblebees, carpenter bees may use their same nest for years, instead of just a passing of a season. The females will establish dominance, males will gather food, and a bees will guard at the entrance.

When carpenter bees become a problem for your family or place of business, it is time for the removal of the nest. Using wrong pesticides or chemicals will not kill the nest, but make the bees angry and can cause stinging, sometimes multiple stings. If you treat the bees with an at-home pesticide, it usually will not kill all the bees and again will cause stinging. Midday is usually when the bees are the most active. If the bees are in an area where there are tall weeds or grasses, DO NOT go over them with a lawn mower. That will make them enter attack mode. Even the sound of the mower or a heavy machine will agitate them. It is best to leave a nest alone and call a professional exterminating company for the safety of your family and business.

For quality extermination of your carpenter nest, call Premium Pest Control at (480) 755-7770. We are one of the very few companies in The Valley that can do same day appointments so that our customers can have peace of mind at the end of the day. We guarantee all our products and also will come do a FREE estimate on you pest problem.

Honey Bees

The best known bee here in Arizona is the Africanized Killer Honey Bee. This particular bee was a descendent from 26 Tanzanian queen bees accidentally released by a replacement bee-keeper in 1957. As the name foretells, there have been a couple cases a year through out America where the bee attacks have killed a human. However, honey bees are known for making honey. Honey bees originated from Asia and the Middle East. They were introduced to America by early European Colonists. Today, honey bee’s are on every continent except for Antarctica, due to extreme weather conditions. Honey bees are very adaptable, and have a complex social life.

There are seven recognized species of honey bees. They cannot survive unless they are in a community, or a colony. The queen is the only sexually reproductive female. The queen will lie often over 1,500 eggs a day. She has a long body and a bigger abdomen than a worker bee. She has teeth, and a curved, smooth stinger that she can use repeatedly.

The worker bees make up most of the hive. A healthy colony can contain 80,000 bees, sometimes more at its peak. The job of the worker bee is to build and maintain the hive, and feed the brood (baby bees). They make the give from wax in glands into heir abdomen. The cells are shaped like hexagons and form the comb. This is where the young and colony provisions are stored. Comb used for the storage of honey is called ‘honey comb’. Worker bees are also the protectors of the comb. They will swarm and sting any intruders. Unlike the queen, worker bees die from the loss of the stinger. The stinger gets caught and rips out their internal organs when left behind.

The worker bees are also in charge of maintaining the brood at 93 degrees F. If it becomes to hot, the bees will fan the brood with their wings. When it’s cold, they pack together to make heat. It takes three days for the larva to hatch.

The drone bee’s only function is to mate with new queens. They don’t have stingers. They mate in air, in which after, the drone dies. A queen will mate only once in her lifetime, but usually mates with 5 or 6 drones. The queen will also decide the sex of each bee.

When honey bees become a problem for your family or place of business, it is time for the removal of the nest. Using wrong pesticides or chemicals will not kill the nest, but make the bees angry and can cause stinging, sometimes multiple stings. If you treat the bees with an at home pesticide, it usually will not kill all the bees and again will cause stinging. Midday is usually when the bees are the most active. If the bees are in an area where there are tall weeds or grasses, DO NOT go over them with a lawn mower. That will make them enter attack mode. Even the sound of the mower or a heavy machine will agitate them. It is best to leave a nest alone and call a professional exterminating company, for the safety of your family and business.

For quality extermination of your honey bee’s nest, call Premium Pest Control at (480) 755-7770. We are one of the very few companies in The Valley that can do same day appointments so that our customers can have peace of mind at the end of the day. We guarantee all our products and also will come do a FREE estimate on you pest problem.

Contributed by: Sarah N. Beard

References

Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia. (2007). Honey Bees. Retrieved from http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/bees/honey_bee/more_honey_bee.shtml. 24th July, 2008

Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia. (2007). Carpenter Bees. Retrieved from http://www.everythingabout.bet/articles.biology.animals/arthropods/insects/bees/carpenter_bee/index.shtml. 24th July, 2008

Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia. (2007).Bee. Retrieved from http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/bees/more_bees.shtml. 23rd July, 2008

Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia. (2007). Bumble Bee. Retrieved from http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/bees/bumble_bee/shtml. 23rd July, 2008