Native Bees

Education Station #12

American Bumblebee

Bumblebees perform “buzz pollination,” in which the bee vibrates to dislodge hard to reach pollen. They tend to love purple and pink flowers.

Most of us can recognize the honeybee, but there are around 1,600 native bee species in California. Many of these bees live solitary lives, some live underground, and they are all amazing pollinators! They are essential to the health of our agriculture system, and are an importnat link in the network of species that make up California’s ecosystem.

Breen Sweat Bee

Green sweat bees prefer open, flat flowers, and nest colonially in soil, meaning that many bees use a single entrance in the ground, but branch out to build their own nest.

California Carpenter Bee

The California carpenter bee is the largest bee found in California. Carpenter bees nest in naturally occurring cracks in wood or they will drill their own.