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Welcome!

This online exhibit is based on the physical “Bees! Diversity, Evolution, Conservation” special exhibit that went on display at the Museum of the Earth in September 2019 and will remain open through August 2020. The physical exhibit was developed in conjunction with Bryan Danforth, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology at Cornell University with grant support from the National Science Foundation and the Tompkins County Tourism Program. Additional acknowledgments and photographs of the original exhibit may be found here.

Online Exhibit Contents:

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What is a bee?

Bees are insects. Insects make up more than half of all known living species and are the most diverse group of animals on Earth. There are more than one million species of insects, and over 20,000 known species of bees!

A small number of the some 20,000 living species of bees. Graphic by Andrielle Swaby using images taken by Sam Droege (USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; public domain). A key to these bee species is available here. Purchase the image above as …

A small number of the some 20,000 living species of bees. Graphic by Andrielle Swaby using images taken by Sam Droege (USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; public domain). A key to these bee species is available here. Purchase the image above as a 24” x 36” poster from our online store.

Like all insects, bees are invertebrates with an exoskeleton, six jointed legs, a three-part body (head, thorax, and abdomen), compound eyes, and one pair of antennae. Bees are part of the order Hymenoptera, along with wasps and ants.

Bee or Not a Bee?

Honey bee.

Honey bee.

How do you tell bees and other insects apart?

Like all insects, bees have three body segments and six legs. They also have four wings in two pairs. Bees, ants, and wasps (order Hymenoptera) all have a narrow waist between the thorax and abdomen, and a stinger. The stinger evolved from a structure used to lay eggs, so only females can sting. 

Wasps and ants usually have a smooth and shiny exoskeleton. Bees have hairy bodies and legs that collect pollen.

 

Bee Imitators

Syrphid fly.

Syrphid fly.

Syrphid fly (Sphaerophoria philanthus). This insect is actually a bee mimic! The harmless hoverfly uses a bee’s markings to scare away predators. It doesn’t have a narrow waist, and has only two wings that are splayed outward. Like all flies, its eyes are very large and antennae are very short.

 
Velvet ant.

Velvet ant.

Velvet Ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis). Velvet ants are tricky! It’s covered in hair like a bee and shaped like an ant. But this insect is actually a wingless wasp! Velvet ants are ground-nesting parasites that prey on bees. Their sting is so painful it earned them the nickname “cow-killer.”

 
Bald-faced hornet.

Bald-faced hornet.

Bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata). Bald-faced hornets are wasps sometimes mistaken for bees. They have white bands on their smooth, mostly black bodies. Their wings are longer and thinner than bee wings. Female bald-faced hornets build round, smooth “paper” nests of wood fiber and saliva.