World Bee Day

Rufous-backed Cellophane Bees (Colletes thoracicus) mating. This is one of the 4000+ bees species found in North America; and/or one of approximately 450 species found in NYS; and/or one of around 200 species in NYC.

This female, by the way, has damaged wings.

Just over half of our bees are ground-nesters like the Rufous-backed. About 23% of our bees don’t make nests of any kind: they attempt to grab the nests of others. This cleptoparasitic Nomada bee’s mission is to her lay her eggs inside such ground nests as the cellophane bee’s.

Meanwhile, some not-bees: Narcissus Bulb Fly above, Bare-eyed Mimic Fly below. Your first clue that these these aren’t bees, btw: the very short antennae.

The shape/placement of the eyes and single pair of wings are also telling.